Electrical conductivity of poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites containing interconnected carbon nanohybrid network based on Pickering emulsion strategy

Abstract

ABSTRACT The formation of three-dimensional (3D) interconnected carbon network throughout insulative polymer matrix is advantageous to elaborating electrically conductive nanocomposites. Herein, oil-in-water (O/W) Pickering emulsion stabilized by carbon nanohybrids assembled with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was utilized as a template to achieve core-shell structured poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microsphere. The effect of synthesis time on the amphiphilicity of carbon nanohybrid stabilizer is studied. Investigations on the as-prepared Pickering emulsion and the electrical conductivity of the derived carbon nanohybrid composites were directed with respect to the concentration and formulation of carbon nanohybrid stabilizer, respectively. Considering a balance between electrical and mechanical properties, 0.74 wt% of carbon nanohybrid stabilizer was used to form O/W Pickering emulsion, which was responsible for the electrical conductivity of 4 × 10−8 S m−1 for the resulting RGO/CNTs/PMMA nanocomposites. The processing-structure-property relationship of carbon nanocomposites based on O/W Pickering emulsion strategy is further demonstrated in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation and thermo-mechanical analysis. The processing and functional synergies between GO and CNTs are identified to efficiently construct interconnected electrically conductive pathway in polymer matrix.