from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Thinning fossil fuel deposits and increasing emphasis on ecological aspects of human activity call for new technology solutions. Energy industry and electronics industry search for novel materials and power sources. In electronics, the power source size is often a limiting parameter. In search of high density power sources carbon materials like nanotubes, graphene, graphite, etc. known for high electrical conductivity, thermal and chemical stability and good mechanical properties are often utilized. These materials are ideal for use in composite electrodes. Polymers in such composites serve to improve mechanical properties and handling, e.g. moulding. Addition of photoactive semiconductors can help with disposal of the polymer after the use. This paper presents a study of compression molded samples of polypropylene (PP) / graphite composites and their thermal stability. The graphite served as filler for the PP matrix and also as a substrate for MeOx particles, where Me stands for Ti and Zn. TiO2 and ZnO functionalized graphite particles were further used as a filler of PP. The graphite and functionalized graphite content in the PP composites was 75 wt%. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and measurement of Martens hardness (HM). The highest HM value was exhibited by composite containing large grain graphite (denoted as PP/GRA1). The HM was affected by thermal treatment (170 °C for 1 h). The HM of the composites containing graphite fillers increased, while in case of the composites containing functionalized graphite fillers the decrease in HM was observed.
Keywords: composite, polypropylene, graphite, thermal stability© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.