Novel Polymer Nanocomposites with Recycled Carbon Materials

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Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) recycled from petroleum waste products by Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT) can be used in polymer nanocomposites to play a significant role in many industrial applications. The University of Calgary (UC) will create new materials collaborating with CUT, by synthesizing composites of GNPs with polymers. These materials have potential to be used in automotive, aerospace's electronics and construction industries. These novel materials also have potential in barrier applications to lower permeability of water vapor, CO2 or other gases. Development of more complex printed circuit boards (PCBs) using polymer composite with graphene-like materials like the GNPs that will be studied in this grant can have significant impact. Considering society's strong desire for sustainability, this recycled filler material allows for reutilization of waste materials while increasing material properties of polymers. We will use the university's polymer processing facilities and characterization infrastructure combined with CUT's GNP manufacturing technology to fabricate novel nano materials that will be translated to Canadian polymer industry. We will implement a three-pronged attack, where the three sides are (i) synthesis and characterization of nanofiller, (ii) blending polymer with nanofiller to obtain desired morphology, and (iii) characterizing the final properties of generated conductive polymer nanocomposites (CPNs). Synthesis and manipulation of nanofiller structure provides researchers with an extra degree of freedom to radically improve properties of CPNs. Via synergy of industry and university collaboration, we can obtain customized nanofillers and novel nano composites. Moreover, a platform of different fillers with different levels of CO2 can be generated, and thus, we plan to initiate an extensive project on creating these nanocomposites, their processing behaviour and their corresponding properties. We will investigate several polymer matrices, such as nylon 6, nylon 6,6, epoxy, polypropylene, polyethylene, and poly(ethylene terephthalate). Four highly qualified personnel will be trained through this project.