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The sound absorption coefficient, airflow resistivity and cell size of polyurethane (PU) foam with graphene as a solid-type additive and tetramethylsilane (TEMS) as a liquid-type additive were investigated. The results show that the sound absorption coefficient and airflow resistivity are closely related, and that increase of the flow resistivity improves the sound absorption coefficient of the PU foam. For the PU foam/graphene (0.2 phr) composite, the values of the sound absorption coefficient and airflow resistivity were 0.52 (frequency range of 1600 to 2500 Hz) and 292,900 Ns/m4, respectively, which were the highest values among the investigated additive species and additive content. The sound absorption coefficient of the PU foam/graphene (0.2 phr) composite increased by 18.2% compared with that of the PU foam without graphene. The results of the sound absorption coefficient and airflow resistivity of the PU foam suggest that graphene is an effective additive in the formation of the PU foam to decrease the cell size and increase the tortuous paths of the foams, and this small cell size consequently increases the acoustic damping properties of the PU foam.

The morphological, electrical, and thermal properties of polyurethane foam (PUF)/single conductive filler composites and PUF/hybrid conductive filler composites were investigated. For the PUF/single conductive filler composites, the PUF/nickel-coated carbon fiber (NCCF) composite showed higher electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) than did the PUF/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and PUF/graphite composites; therefore, NCCF is the most effective filler among those tested in this study. For the PUF/hybrid conductive fillers PUF/NCCF (3.0 php)/MWCNT (3.0 php) composites, the values of electrical conductivity and EMI SE were determined to be 0.171 S/cm and 24.7 dB (decibel), respectively, which were the highest among the fillers investigated in this study. NCCF and MWCNT were the most effective primary and secondary fillers, and they had a synergistic effect on the electrical conductivity and EMI SE of the PUF/NCCF/MWCNT composites. From the results of thermal conductivity and cell size of the PUF/conductive filler composites, it is suggested that a reduction in cell size lowers the thermal conductivity of the PUF/conductive filler composites. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44373.

Electrical, thermal, and morphological properties of the polyurethane foam (PUF)/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites were investigated with the MWCNT content. Electrical conductivity of the PUF/MWCNT composites increased rapidly from 0 to 0.23 S/cm at 0.1 php MWCNT content, then, the electrical conductivity did not change significantly with the increase of MWCNT content up to 0.5 phr because of the aggregation of the MWCNT when the amount of MWCNT was large (0.5 php). The PUF/MWCNT composite having low MWCNT contents (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 php) showed lower thermal conductivity than that of the PUF/MWCNT composite having higher content (0.5 php). This is maybe due to that the PUF with the lower MWCNT contents (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 php) showed smaller cell size than that of the PUF with the higher content of MWCNT (0.5 php). From the results of thermal conductivity and cell size of the PUF/MWCNT composites, it is suggested that reduction in cell size of the composite affects lowering the thermal conductivity of the PUF/MWCNT composites. Also, small amount (0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 php) of MWCNT may contribute to decrease the thermal conductivity of the PUF/MWCNT composites.

The electrical, morphological and rheological properties of melt and dry mixed composites of polyethylene (PE)/graphite (Gr), polypropylene (PP)/Gr and PP/nickel-coated carbon fiber (NCCF) were investigated as a function of filler type, filler content and processing temperature. The electrical conductivities of dry mixed PP/NCCF composites were increased with decreasing processing temperature. For the melt mixed PP/NCCF composites, the electrical conductivities were higher than those of the melt mixed PE/Gr and PP/Gr composites, which was attributed to the effect of the higher NCCF aspect ratio in allowing the composites to form a more conductive network in the polymer matrix than the graphite does. From the results of morphological studies, the fillers in the dry mixed PP/NCCF composites were more randomly dispersed compared to those in the melt mixed PP/NCCF composites. The increased electrical conductivities of the dry mixed composites were attributed to the more random dispersion of NCCF compared to that of the melt mixed PP/NCCF composites. The complex viscosities of the PP/Gr composites were higher than those of the PP/NCCF composites, which was attributed to the larger diameter of the graphite particles than that of the NCCF. Furthermore, the fiber orientation in the “along the flow” direction during melt mixing was attributed to the decreased complex viscosities of the melt mixed PP/NCCF composites compared those of the melt mixed PP/Gr composites.