Electrical, thermal and flammability properties of conductive filler kenaf-reinforced polymer nanocomposites

Exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (3 phr) were incorporated into polypropylene with increasing concentration of treated and untreated kenaf flour 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt%, respectively, and prepared via melt-extrusion using corotating twin screw extruder. The resulting nanocomposites were characterized in terms of electrical, thermomechanical, thermal conductivity, thermal behavior, heat deflection temperature (HDT), and mechanical, morphological, and structural properties. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic results demonstrate that the fibers interacted with the matrix and affected the mechanical behavior. The effective thermal conductivities decreased with increasing fiber content, while HDT of the nanocomposites was found to significantly increase, respectively. The electrical properties decreased with increasing fiber content. However, despite the decline in electrical conductivity, the composites were still relatively conductive for applications such as sensors and electromagnetic shielding after fiber inclusion.