Rapid preparation of polymer/metal nanocomposites via electrical explosion method

Electrical explosion is a physical process driven by electric current that comes with a conductor to be heated up, undergo phase transitions in form of explosion. It can provide extreme conditions of instantaneous high temperature (>10000 K) and pressure (GPa) in a very short period (<20 μs), accompanied by intense shock waves and light radiation. These characteristics make it a unique but effective methodology for designing and synthesizing composite materials. In this work, polyethylene (PE) was introduced into the electrical explosion process. Therein, a 20-kA current pulse was applied to drive electrical explosion, resulting in a special composites with metal nanoparticles (NPs) adhering to thin PE sheets. The morphology of the material mainly shows small sized metal nanoparticles attached to the large sized polymer surface. A small amount of core-shell structured composites were also observed in the SEM images. Statistical analysis revealed that the shock wave produced in free space during the explosion propagated at a speed of 775 m/s, which enhanced the mixing of different components in the explosion products. This method enabled the rapid modification of polyethylene materials, leading to the preparation of polymer materials attaching with copper and aluminum nanoparticles. Compared with different kinds of raw material, copper foil and copper wire, the former one forms a tighter structure of nanoparticles, and a more uniform distribution. Some of the nanoparticles are even able to be embedded into carbon material. These composites are expected to exhibit diverse properties, offering potential for advanced applications.