Characteristic features of the thermophysical properties of a system based on polyethylene oxide and carbon nanotubes

The results of experimental and computational investigations of the thermophysical characteristics of polymer nanocomposites based on polyethylene oxide and carbon nanotubes are presented. It has been established that the thermal conductivity of a system depends substantially on the structure of the polymer matrix and content of nanotubes. It is shown that the thermal conductivity displays percolation behavior and is described within the framework of the percolation theory. The percolation threshold equals 0.6%. It has been revealed that before the percolation threshold the thermal conductivity correlates well with the degree of crystallinity of the polymer matrix. (authors)