Polyethylene Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes via In Situ Polymerization

The MWNTs/PE nanocomposites are prepared by in situ polymerization with mulltiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) supported Cp2ZrCl2 catalyst and MAO as cocatalyst. The SEM and AFM results show that MWNTs are exfoliated and homogenously dispersed in PE matrix by the in situ polymerization. The up-shifting of the G band in Raman spectra show the strong compressive forces associated with PE chains on the MWNTs. The storage modulus of the MWNTs/PE nanocomposite can be increased by 160% even at low amount of MWNTs (0.2 wt %) due to MWNTs well-dispersed and exfoliated in the matrix. The TGA and DMA tests point to significant improvements on thermal and mechanical properties of the PE/MWNTs nanocomposites compared to pure PE.