Effect of carbonized wood fiber and carbon black loading on density, tensile properties, electrical conductivity and swelling of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer composites

Abstract

Abstract Challenges faced to develop conducting polymer composites (CPCs) comprised of poor electro-active stability, control of the mobility, mechanical properties, presentation and concentration of bioactive molecules. Carbonized wood fiber (CWF) with diameter size of 110 µm was successfully produced from waste wood fiber grade B by using conventional furnace machine at 700°C in air atmosphere for 3 hours. In this study, the effect of CWF and carbon black (CB) on the properties of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) composites was studied. The samples were prepared by using brabender plasticoder at temperature 160°C with rotor speed of 50 rpm. The result indicated that EVA/CB composites showed higher density, void content, tensile strength, and electrical conductivity but lower elongation at break and swelling compared to EVA/CWF composites. Both composites showed increment in density, void content, and electrical conductivity, and reduced tensile strength, elongation at break, and swelling with increasing of filler loading in EVA composites.