The role of carbon nanotubes in both physical and chemical liquid–solid transition of polydimethylsiloxane

In this work we investigate the effect of the dispersion degree of as-received multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in the liquid–solid transitions (LST) of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The physical LST of the suspensions showed a strong dependence on the nanotubes dispersion degree due to the formation of an interconnected network as the dispersion time increased. These MWNTs acting as “effective physical cross-links” also influenced the dynamic viscoelastic properties, accelerating the chemical LST (or chemical cross-linking) and giving rise to an increase in the cross-linking density of the composite samples.