Thermo-mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of CdS-trans-polyisoprene, polymer nanocomposite
Abstract This paper focuses on the comparative evaluation of the glass transition temperature (Tg), storage modulus and thermal conductivity of trans-polyisoprene (TPI) and CdS-TPI nanocomposite. The CdS nanoparticles synthesized by chemical route are dispersed into TPI using ultrasonic vibrations. Particle size of nanocrystals is obtained from X-ray diffraction and found to be 1.84 nm. Thermo-mechanical properties (Tg and storage modulus) are measured by dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), while thermal conductivity is a measured using the transient plane source (TPS) technique. It is observed that glass transition temperature and thermal conductivity are higher while storage modulus and mechanical properties are lower for CdS-TPI nanocomposites than for pure TPI. This has been explained on the basis of structural changes occurring due to introduction of CdS as filler into the TPI.