Abstract
Interfacial localization of carbon fillers in cocontinuous-structured polymer blends is well-known as a high-efficiency strategy for conductive network formation. However, a comparison with interfacial localization of carbon fillers in sea-island-structured polymer blends is lacking. Here, three types of highly efficient conductive networks formed on the basis of interfacial localization of carbon black (CB) in polyamide 6 (PA6)/poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) blends with different blend compositions (80/20, 50/50 and 20/80 vol/vol) were investigated and compared in terms of electrical resistivity, morphology as well as rheological and mechanical properties. The order of the electrical percolation threshold of CB in the three blends is 50/50 < 20/80 < 80/20, which can be attributed to different network structures. The rheological percolation thresholds are close to the electrical ones, confirming the formation of CB networks. The formation mechanisms for the three types of CB network structures are analyzed. All the three types of PA6/PBT-6 vol% CB composites showed improved tensile strength compared with PA6/PBT blends, being in favor for practical applications.
Highlights
Efficient formation of conductive filler networks in polymer matrices is key in the preparation of high-performance and low-cost conductive polymer composites [1,2,3,4,5], other factors such as crystallization and assembly of polymers need to be considered [6,7]
It has been known that the distribution of conductive particles, typically carbon fillers such as carbon black (CB) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), in polymer matrices greatly affects the formation efficiency of conductive networks [1,4,5,8,9,10,11]
It is generally recognized that the formation efficiency of the conductive networks increases to a great extent, compared with single polymer as the matrix, when carbon fillers are selectively localized in one continuous polymer phase or at the interface of a cocontinuous-structured polymer blend, according to the double percolation mechanism [12]
Summary
Efficient formation of conductive filler networks in polymer matrices is key in the preparation of high-performance and low-cost conductive polymer composites [1,2,3,4,5], other factors such as crystallization and assembly of polymers need to be considered [6,7]. It has been known that the distribution of conductive particles, typically carbon fillers such as CB and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), in polymer matrices greatly affects the formation efficiency of conductive networks [1,4,5,8,9,10,11]. It is generally recognized that the formation efficiency of the conductive networks increases to a great extent, compared with single polymer as the matrix, when carbon fillers are selectively localized in one continuous polymer phase or at the interface of a cocontinuous-structured polymer blend, according to the double percolation mechanism [12]. The interfacial localization of carbon fillers in cocontinuous-structured binary blends is considered the most ideal strategy with the highest formation efficiency of conductive networks because the interface area is small. We noticed that in this ideal strategy, the phase continuity of the two components was considered crucial in order to ensure continuity of the interface, which is essential for achieving the second percolation [29]
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