Viscoelastic behavior of poly(ether imide) incorporated with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

There is significant potential in improving the mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties of engineering plastics, including poly(ether imide) (PEI), with various nanoinclusions such as multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). However, this potential can only be fully realized through a thorough understanding of the rheological behavior and the thermomechanical histories that the nanocomposites are exposed to during their preparation and the resulting effective properties. In this study, nanocomposites of PEI and MWCNTs were prepared using a solution processing method under different dispersion conditions, and the viscoelastic material functions of the nanocomposites were characterized as functions of concentration of CNTs in the 1-5% by weight range (volume fraction, φ = 0.006-0.03) and temperature. The storage modulus and magnitude of complex viscosity values of the PEI nanosuspensions increased by as much as 3500% and 800%, respectively, at φ = 0.03, along with similar orders of magnitude increases observed or predicted in other viscoelastic material functions. Such increases reflect how nanotube incorporation and network formation can drastically alter the flow and deformation behavior of the PEI/CNT nanosuspensions at processing-relevant temperatures and deformation rates.