Influence of graphene–carbon nanotubes and processing parameters on electrical and dielectric properties of polypropylene nanocomposites

In this study, the effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanosheets (GNs) on the microstructure, electrical conductivity and relative dielectric permittivity of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites were investigated in relation to the melt compounding parameters. Although CNTs/GNs can significantly improve the conductivity and permittivity of PP nanocomposites, more significant results can be obtained by using optimal fabrication parameters. For optimal melt processing parameters using Taguchi optimization method, electrical conductivity and relative dielectric permittivity of about 3.08 × 10⁻⁵ S/m and 158.97 were achieved, whereas only about 1.34 × 10⁻¹¹ S/m and 2.02 were measured for pure PP respectively. Therefore, this study showcased optimal melt compounding process parameters for the endless future research on PP-CNTs/GNs nanocomposites for various advanced engineering applications. This will also guide future research on the uniform use of melt fabrication parameters for proximity in comparison of results published on PP-CNTs/GNs nanocomposites.