Melt spinning of conductive textile fibers with hybridized graphite nanoplatelets and carbon black filler

Abstract

In this study, two different carbon fillers: carbon black (CB) and graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) are studied as conductive fillers for the preparation of conductive polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites. In order to obtain a homogenous dispersion of GNP, GNP/PP composites were prepared by two different methods: solid state mixing (SSM) and traditional melt mixing (MM). The result shows that MM is more efficient in the dispersion of GNP particles compared to SSM method. PP nanocomposites containing only one conductive filler and two fillers were prepared at different filler concentrations. Based on the analysis of electrical and rheological properties of the prepared nanocomposites, it shows that a hybridized composite with equal amounts of GNP and CB has favorable processing properties. Conductive fibers with a core/sheath structure were produced on a bicomponent melt spinning line. The core materials of these fibers are the hybridized GNP/CB/PP nanocomposite and the sheath is pure polyamide. It was found that GNPs were separated during melt and cold drawing which results in the decrease of conductivity. However, the conductivity could partly be restored by the heat treatment.

Electrically conductive polymeric bi‐component fibers containing a high load of low‐structured carbon black

“…Thus, there are good arguments for seeking other ways of making textile fibers conductive. Our research group has recently investigated the possibility of using conductive polymer composites in the manufacturing of melt‐spun textile fibers . Conductive carbon nanoparticles, carbon black (CB), carbon nanotubes (CNT) and, recently, graphite nanoplatelets (GNP), have gained intense attention during the last decades.…”

“…Thus CB, although its lower inherent conductivity compared to CNT and GNP, would be the most favourable option for melt spinning applications since it is less affected by flow orientation effects. Furthermore, the decrease in conductivity of a polymer/CB composite during the drawing can be restored by heat treatment, which is not the case for polymer/CNT or polymer/GNP composites …”

“…Our research group has recently investigated the possibility of using conductive polymer composites in the manufacturing of melt-spun textile fibers. [5][6][7][8] Conductive carbon nanoparticles, carbon black (CB), carbon nanotubes (CNT) and, recently, graphite nanoplatelets (GNP), have gained intense attention during the last decades. The addition of an adequate amount of such particles to the polymer dramatically improves its properties and adds functionality to the polymer.…”

“…When GNPs are used as filler, fibers with high loadings can be produced, but the uniaxial elongational flow during spinning orients the platelets in the direction of flow and the conductivity is significantly impaired. 8 With CNTs in a fiber, the cylindrical CNTs will be oriented in the axial direction of the fiber. 12 Consequently, the conductivity of the fibers is reduced with increasing draw-down ratio.…”

New Perspectives on Graphene/Polymer Fibers and Fabrics for Smart Textiles: The Relevance of the Polymer/Graphene Interphase

“…PVA/rGO and polypyrrole/rGO fibers prepared by this method showed excellent electrochemical performance for use in lightweight supercapacitors (Ding et al, 2014;Chen et al, 2016). Melt spinning was used to fabricate conducting textile fibers of polypropylene (PP) with hybridized graphite nanoplatelets, carbon black filler, and amine functionalized graphene/polyamide 6 fibers (Nilsson et al, 2013;Hou et al, 2014).…”