Enhanced thermal and electrical properties by Ag nanoparticles decorated GO-CNT nanostructures in PEEK composites

A nanostructure of graphene oxide (GO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgGNT) has been prepared via a molecular-level-mixing (MLM) method followed by a subsequent freeze-drying and reduction process. The obtained well-dispersed AgGNT nanostructures were then applied as fillers to reinforce the poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) matrix. AgGNT-PEEK composites have then demonstrated excellent electrical and thermal conduction performances as well as high thermal durability compared with pure PEEK and its pure Ag or GO-CNT (GNT) enhanced composites. Owing to the unique morphology of AgGNT nanostructures, which made them uniformly dispersed in the PEEK matrix and formed a 3D network structure, the AgGNT-PEEK composites displayed 60% higher thermal conductivity and around 10⁹ times better electrical conduction performance than pure PEEK, and superior thermal durability even above the melting temperature of pure PEEK. Thus, the AgGNT-PEEK composites have shown great potential for applications such as semiconductors, high-temperature electrical applications, aerospace, and automobile materials.