A study on microstructure and electrical conductivity of PLA/ MWCNT Nanocomposites

Polylactic Acid (PLA)/Multi walled Carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites containing ۰, ۰.۲, ۰.۵, ۰.۷, ۱ and ۱.۵ wt.% nanotubes were produced via melt mixing, using a brabender. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was used to study the dispersion and distribution of nanotubes in the PLA matrix. It was found that the CNTs are dispersed uniformly in the matrix, and there is no agglomeration of them. In other hand, there is some connections between individual nanotubes which led to increase the electrical conductivity of resulted nanocopmposites. The electrical conductivity measurements showed that the electrical conductivity of samples are increased by increasing the amount of nanotubes in the samples. A percolation threshold of ۰.۵۶ wt. % of CNTs was determined for this system practically, which was confirmed by percolation theory as well.