Abstract
The present work examines the influence of different carbon-based fillers on the performance of electrically conductive polymer blend composites. More specifically, we examined and compared the effects of graphene (GR), carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon black (CB) on a PC/ABS matrix by morphological investigation, electrical and physic-mechanical characterization. Electrical analyses showed volume resistivity decreased when the CNTs and CB content were increased, although the use of melt-mixed GR did not really influence this property. For the latter, solution blending was found to be more suitable to obtain better GR dispersion, and it obtained electrical percolation with a graphene content ranging from 0.5% to 1% by weight, depending on the solvent removal method that was applied. There was a gradual improvement in all of the composites’ dielectric properties, in terms of loss factor, with temperature and the concentration of the filler. As expected, the use of rigid fillers increased the composite stiffness, which is reflected in a continuous increment in the composites’ modulus of elasticity. The improvements in tensile strength and modulus were coupled with a reduction in impact strength, indicating a decrease in polymer toughness and flexibility. TEM micrographs allowed us to confirm previous results from studies on filler dispersion. According to this study and the comparison of the three carbon-based fillers, CNTs are the best filler choice in terms of electrical and mechanical performance.
Highlights
A distinctive property of all polymers is their intrinsic electrical insulating nature
A common method of providing electrical conductivity to polymers is the incorporation of conductive particles, which at specific levels of concentration and degree of dispersion create a three-dimensional network that is capable of promoting the electrical percolation of the material [1]
Results and Discussion electrical percolation in conductive polymer composites allows the formation of a continuous network structure by the conductive filler dispersed in the polymer matrix
Summary
A distinctive property of all polymers is their intrinsic electrical insulating nature. The electromagnetic emissions produced by electronic devices can interfere with other devices, causing potential problems For this reason, many researchers have studied conductive polymer composites that show electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness. The possibility of coupling high performance fillers with the tailored properties provided by polymer blends creates new perspectives for applications in which simultaneous improvements in mechanical and electrical properties are critical. To such an end, a fundamental aspect is the choice of a suitable filler and the definition of the optimal processing conditions to obtain a uniform distribution and an optimal interaction between the filler and the embedding matrix. This study combines morphological investigations on fillers’ dispersion with electrical and physic-mechanical characterization with the aim of investigating and comparing the effects of filler concentration/type
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