Linear rheological analysis of polyolefin blend/CNT nanocomposites

This study reports rheological and mechanical properties of a polymer blend and carbon nanotube (CNT) composite in which CNTs are preferentially confined to the elastic phase. The blend morphology was frozen by selectively crosslinking the elastic phase using high energy radiation. Linear rheology study reveals that CNT loading significantly affects the complex viscosity and storage modulus. With the addition of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), the crossover shifted to a slightly higher frequency and at 60% EPDM content, the behavior was reversed i.e. G' was higher than G'' over the entire frequency range, confirming the formation of a co-continuous network. (author)