Effect of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the crystallization and dielectric properties of BP-PEN nanocomposites

In this work, polymer-based nanocomposite films formed from biphenol poly(arylene ether nitrile) (BP-PEN) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully prepared by the solution casting method combined with continuous ultrasonic dispersion technology. The micromorphology, thermal, mechanical and dielectric properties of the nanocomposite films were investigated in detail. Non-isothermal crystallization behavior studies indicate that the presence of MWCNTs enhances the crystallization of BP-PEN in the nanocomposites, which is consistent with the XRD analysis. Most importantly, it could be observed that the film containing 0.8 wt% MWCNTs reached the maximum crystallinity. Although, incorporation of MWCNTs did not obviously increase the mechanical of the films, all the nanocomposite films still exhibited excellent mechanical strength. The SEM micrographs of the nanocomposite films showed that the MWCNTs were uniformly coated by BP-PEN crystals, and indicating significantly improved nucleation ability of MWCNTs for polymer crystallization.