Influence of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube on Rheological Behavior of Mesophase Pitches

The rheological behaviors of mesophase pitch containing different contents (0, 1.0, 2.0 wt%) of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were studied by using ARES cone-plate rheometer. The dynamic response of mesophase pitch containing MWNTs was different from that of pure mesophase pitch due to the MWNTs as a suspension in viscous pitch. The dynamic viscosity increased with increasing the amount of MWNTs, which is a clear evidence of the interruption of MWNTs in mesophase pitch. Also, the phase angle result indicates that mesophase pitch containing MWNT had less elastic nature than pure mesophase pitch.