X-ray microdiffraction and micro-Raman study on an injection moulding SWCNT-polymer nanocomposite

We report the effect of a combination of shear and elongational flow fields on the structure of nanoadditive and matrix for an injection moulded SWCNT-polymer nanocomposite. Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) intensify the flow field effects produced during injection moulding of a PBT/SWCNT nanocomposite, templating the morphology of crystallization and providing the generation of hybrid shish-kebab superstructures. By combining X-ray diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy techniques, both working on a microfocus fashion, it has been shown that the shear flow tends to self-assemble the nanotubes into a rectangular lattice, different from that hexagonal of native SWCNT, the maximum concentration of ordered aggregates being I mm to the wall edge of the injection moulded bar. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.