(191k) Tensile and Flexural Properties in Carbon-Filled Polypropylene-Based Resins

In this work, we study the use of conductive resins for fuel cell bipolar plate applications. It is known that the addition of carbon filler can increase the electrical and thermal conductivities of the polymer matrix but will also have an effect on the tensile and flexural properties, which are also important for bipolar plates. In this work, we use three different types of carbon filler (carbon black, synthetic graphite and carbon nanotubes) in polypropylene. The effects of these single fillers on the flexural and tensile properties were measured. All of the carbon fillers led to an increase in the tensile and flexural modulus of the composite. In addition, the ultimate tensile and flexural strengths decreased with the addition of carbon black and synthetic graphite, but increased for carbon nanotubes/polypropylene composites. Our modeling work showed that the Nielsen model gave the best prediction of the tensile modulus for the polypropylene based composites.