In this paper, the electrical and thermal conductivity and morphological behavior of low density polyethylene (LDPE)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) + graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) hybrid nanocomposites (HNCs) have been studied. The distribution of MWCNTs and the hybrid of MWCNTs/GNPs within the polymer matrix has been investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the thermal and electrical conductivity of the LDPE-based nanocomposites increased along with the increasing content of carbon nanofillers. However, one could observe greater improvement in the thermal and electrical conductivity when only MWCNTs have been incorporated. Moreover, the improvement in tensile properties and thermal stability has been observed when carbon nanofillers have been mixed with LDPE. At the same time, the increasing content of MWCNTs and MWCNTs/GNPs caused an increase in the melt viscosity with only little effect on phase transition temperatures.

What are the most promising biobased PET replacements? Are they economically feasible? Are they sustainable? Industrially feasible? In the future, PET will certainly be replaced by more than one option, e.g., PEF, PTF, bio-PET, and PLA.

The chemical structure-dynamics relationship for poly(trimethylene 2,5-furanoate) and poly(trimethylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) was investigated via dielectric spectroscopy and compared with that of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) in order to evaluate the impact on the subglass dynamics of the chemical nature of the ring. Further comparison was accomplished with the neopentyl glycol containing counterparts: poly(neopentyl 2,5-furanoate) and poly(neopentyl 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate). Our study reveals a multimodal nature of the subglass β process. For the more flexible polymers (containing cyclohexane rings) three modes for the β process were detected. The faster mode was assigned to the relaxation of the oxygen linked to the aliphatic carbon, the slower one to the link between the aliphatic ring and the ester group, and the third mode to the aliphatic ring. For stiffer polymers (containing aromatic rings), the local modes appear more coupled. This effect is more evident in the polymers with the furan ring where essentially a single β mode can be resolved.

Nanocomposites based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and expanded graphite (EG) have been prepared by in situ polymerization. Morphology of the nanocomposites has been examined by electronic microscopy. The relationship between the preparation method, morphology, and electrical conductivity was studied. Electronic microscopy images reveal that the nanocomposites exhibit well dispersed graphene platelets. The incorporation of EG to the PET results in a sharp insulator‐to‐conductor transition with a percolation threshold (ϕc) as low as 0.05 wt %. An electrical conductivity of 10−3 S/cm was achieved for 0.4 wt % of EG. The low percolation threshold and relatively high electrical conductivity are attributed to the high aspect ratio, large surface area, and uniform dispersion of the EG sheets in PET matrix. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012

A series of poly(ethylene terephthalate-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate)-blockpoly(tetramethylene oxide) (PETG-block-PTMO) copolymers were synthesized by means of a polycondensation process and characterized using 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), that confirm the successful synthesis of the material. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), small -and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXS and WAXS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used in order to evaluate the influence of the block copolymers' composition and microstructure on the phase transition temperatures, thermal properties, as well as the thermooxidative and thermal stability of the PETG-block-PTMO copolymers, respectively. The mechanical properties were investigated by tensile testing and dynamic mechanical measurements (DMTA). We found that along with an increase in PTMO weight fraction, both number-average molecular weights and intrinsic visocisities increase. Moreover, an increase in the flexible segments content in PETG-block-PTMO resulted in shifting the values of glass transition temperatures toward lower ones, which was confirmed by DSC and DMTA analyses, thus affirming the miscibility of both phases. At the same time, along with an increase of PTMO flexible segments amount in the PETG-block-PTMO copolymers, the values of Young's modulus, tensile strength at yield and weight losses in lower temperatures range, i.e. 280-390 C, decrease.