Preparation and characterization of conductive carbon nanotube-polyurethane foam composites

Electrical, thermal, and morphological properties of the polyurethane foam (PUF)/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites were investigated with the MWCNT content. Electrical conductivity of the PUF/MWCNT composites increased rapidly from 0 to 0.23 S/cm at 0.1 php MWCNT content, then, the electrical conductivity did not change significantly with the increase of MWCNT content up to 0.5 phr because of the aggregation of the MWCNT when the amount of MWCNT was large (0.5 php). The PUF/MWCNT composite having low MWCNT contents (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 php) showed lower thermal conductivity than that of the PUF/MWCNT composite having higher content (0.5 php). This is maybe due to that the PUF with the lower MWCNT contents (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 php) showed smaller cell size than that of the PUF with the higher content of MWCNT (0.5 php). From the results of thermal conductivity and cell size of the PUF/MWCNT composites, it is suggested that reduction in cell size of the composite affects lowering the thermal conductivity of the PUF/MWCNT composites. Also, small amount (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 php) of MWCNT may contribute to decrease the thermal conductivity of the PUF/MWCNT composites.