The influence of microstructure of carbon nanotubes on the degree of length reduction during melt processing with polycarbonate

The length of fiber has strong effect on mechanical strength of fiber reinforced polymer nanocomposites. Previous work has shown that the length of multi-walled carbon nanotubes are reduced during melt mixing process with polyamide 6, 6. In this work, MWCNT/polycarbonate (PC) composites were prepared with four types of MWCNTs by injection molding. The severe melt mixing condition for dispersion of MWCNTs in the polymer matrix resulted in length reduction of MWCNTs. The microstructure and morphological properties of MWCNTs that influenced the degree of breakage and length reduction were experimentally investigated.