A bio-based compatibilizer for improved interfacial compatibility in thermally conductive and electrically insulating graphite/high density poly(ethylene) composites

Graphite is a thermally conductive filler. However, when dispersed into high density poly(ethylene) (HDPE) resin, graphite particles tend to agglomerate and requires a compatibilizer to achieve desired thermal/physical properties. In this study, oleic acid (OA), a bio-based additive and polyethylene-polyamines (PEPA) were used to synthesize a new compatibilizer, PEPA-g-OA, containing numerous  NR 2 groups. The experimental results showed that PEPA-g-OA can significantly improve the compatibility between graphite particles and the HDPE matrix due to uniform dispersion of graphite in the HDPE matrix. When the graphite content was 25 wt%, the thermal conductivity of the composite recorded 1.2 W m −1 K −1 (three times that of neat HDPE) and the volume resistivity was 1.8 × 10 9 Ω cm, indicating excellent electrical insulation. Compared to the composites with no graphite content, the properties of the composites with 25 wt% graphite content exhibited narrower melting and crystallization peaks, more stable mechanical properties, and higher ultraviolet aging resistance. Synthesized new bio-based compatibilizer and thermally conductive and electrically insulating composites developed in this study can be useful in different industrial fields for the preparation of the next generation composites.