Carbon nanotubes induced microstructure and property changes of polycarbonate/poly(butylene terephthalate) blend

Polycarbonate/poly(butylene terephthalate) (PC/PBT) blends exhibit wide applications in many fields. However, the blends usually exhibit poor mechanical and thermal properties because of the transesterification reaction occurred between molecules of the blend components. In this work, a small quantity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was introduced into the PC/PBT blend to prepare the ternary blend composites with balanced macroscopic properties. The dispersion of CNTs in the blend composites and the microstructural changes induced by CNTs were comparatively investigated. The results demonstrated that CNTs exhibit relatively homogeneous dispersion in the blend composites. Specifically, at relatively high content, CNTs form the percolated network structure. The crystallization ability of the PBT component is greatly enhanced with the aid of the nucleation effect of CNTs. Mechanical property measurements showed that CNTs exhibit strengthening and toughening effects on the PC/PBT blend, especially incorporating 2 wt% CNTs leads to the dramatic increase of tensile ductility. Further results showed that the blend composites also exhibit excellent antistatic performance. It is believed that the simultaneously improved fracture toughness and antistatic performance endow the blend composites with more potential applications.