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Journal of Polymer & Composites Original Research Open Access

Composite Gel-Fibers and Solid-State-Processed Tapes Based on Disentangled Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Electrically Conductive Carbon Black: a Comparative Study

  1. Tikhon S. Kurkin Department of Polymer Structural Materials, Laboratory of Structure of Polymer Materials, Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), Profsoyuznaya street
  2. Oleg V. Lebedev Department of Polymer Structural Materials, Laboratory of Structure of Polymer Materials, Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), Profsoyuznaya street
  3. Evgeny K. Golubev Department of Polymer Structural Materials, Laboratory of Structure of Polymer Materials, Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), Profsoyuznaya street
  4. Ekaterina P. Tikunova Department of Polymer Structural Materials, Laboratory of Structure of Polymer Materials, Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), Profsoyuznaya street
  5. Andrey V. Voronenkov Department of Polymer Structural Materials, Laboratory of Structure of Polymer Materials, Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), Profsoyuznaya street
  6. Alexander N. Ozerin Department of Polymer Structural Materials, Laboratory of Structure of Polymer Materials, Enikolopov Institute of Synthetic Polymer Materials Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPM RAS), Profsoyuznaya street

Abstract

In this study, oriented nanocomposite gel-spun fibers and solid-state-processed tapes were manufactured and analyzed. The fibers and tapes were produced using a specific type of nascent disentangled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) reactor powder. As the filler, commercially available electrically conductive carbon black (CB) was used. The ultra-high filler content values up to 75 wt.% were achieved for the UHMWPE/CB gel-spun fibers, while the degree of filling was limited (up to 30 wt.%) in the case of the solid-state processing approach. This was attributed to the type of the filler distribution achieved with the both processing methods. The influence of the filler distribution on the composite characteristics in case of the homogeneous filler distribution in the gel-spun fibers and extremely segregated filler distribution in the solid-state tapes was studied. To this end, the resulting composite UHMWPE/CB gel-spun fibers and solid-state processed tapes were characterized using a combination of research techniques, including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mechanical testing, and conductivity measurements. A comparative study of the electrical conductivity of the gel-spun and solid-state-processed UHMWPE/CB composites was conducted for both the unoriented and oriented states of the composite materials. The obtained solid-state processed UHMWPE/CB tapes were characterized by a low filler percolation threshold value of 2.5 wt.%, while the percolation threshold for the composite gel-spun fibers exceeded 15 wt.%. Regardless of the filler distribution type, a notable reduction in electrical conductivity was observed following the orientation drawing of the composites. At the same time, while a notable reduction in the maximum achievable orientation deformation ratio and subsequent tensile strength decline was observed in the case of gel-spun fibers, no impact of the filling on orientation strengthening was detected in the case of solid-state processed tapes.

Keywords

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