Influence of hybrid system of nanofillers on the functional properties of postconsumer PET-G–based nanocomposites

Abstract

In this article, postconsumer poly (ethylene glycol-co-1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate) (PET-G) foils have been modified with three types of carbon nanofillers that differ in size and shape, ie, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), graphene nanoplatelets (GNP), and nanosized carbon black (nCB), thus enabling the reusage of recyclate in receiving new functional materials. The series of polymer hybrid nanocomposites have been prepared via a two-stage polycondensation process, be means of glycolysis of postconsumer PET-G foil, followed by polycondensation in the presence of carbon nanofillers. The scanning electron microscopy revealed that nanoadditives were uniformly dispersed into the whole volume of polymer matrix. The results present the synergistic effect of hybrid system of nanofillers in improving tensile properties of PET-G. It has been found that the incorporation of three types of carbon nanofillers has not affected the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix. Moreover, the incorporation of carbon nanofillers, and the mixture of two, or even three of those, caused an improvement in thermal conductivity and thermal stability.