Reinforced thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of in situ microfibrillar composites through multistage stretching extrusion

To surmount difficulty of the melt processing and deterioration of mechanical properties of polymer composites induced by high fraction of the reinforced fibers and thermal conductive fillers, polyethylene (PE)/boron nitride (BN)/polyamide 6 (PA6) and PE/BN/poly(‐hydroxybenzate‐co‐DOPO‐benzenediol dihydrodiphenyl ether terephthalate) (PHDDT) in situ microfibrillar composites were prepared through multistage stretching extrusion. The experimental results showed that both the tensile and impact strength of the PE/BN/PA6 and PE/BN/PHDDT composites were improved. Meanwhile, the thermal conductivities of the PE/BN, PE/BN/PA6, and PE/BN/PHDDT composites were also reinforced. Based on the equation proposed by Y. Agari, the new modified equations can well predict the thermal conductivity of the composites prepared through multistage stretching extrusion with different number of laminating‐multiplying elements. In addition, it was found that PHDDT can act as a “processing aid” to reduce the viscosity of the PE/BN composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:2663–2669, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers