Abstract
Polyamide 66 (PA66) is a well-known engineering thermoplastic polymer, primarily employed in polymer composites with fillers and additives of different nature and dimensionality (1D, 2D and 3D) used as alternatives to metals in various technological applications. In this work, carbon black (CB), a conductive nanofiller, was used to reinforce the PA66 polymer in the 9–27 wt. % CB loading range. The reason for choosing CB was intrinsically associated with its nature: a nanostructured carbon filler, whose agglomeration characteristics affect the electrical properties of the polymer composites. Crystallinity, phase composition, thermal behaviour, morphology, microstructure, and electrical conductivity, which are all properties engendered by nanofiller dispersion in the polymer, were investigated using thermal analyses (thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry), microscopies (scanning electron and atomic force microscopies), and electrical conductivity measurements. Interestingly, direct current (DC) electrical measurements and conductive-AFM mapping through the samples enable visualization of the percolation paths and the ability of CB nanoparticles to form aggregates that work as conductive electrical pathways beyond the electrical percolation threshold. This finding provides the opportunities to investigate the degree of filler dispersion occurring during the transformation processes, while the results of the electrical properties also contribute to enabling the use of such conductive composites in sensor and device applications. In this regard, the results presented in this paper provide evidence that conductive carbon-filled polymer composites can work as touch sensors when they are connected with conventional low-power electronics and controlled by inexpensive and commercially available microcontrollers.
Highlights
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the application of polymer composites
The present study gives insights into carbon black (CB), one of the most common conductive nanofillers, when it is melt-compounded with polyamide (PA66) to fabricate polymer composites below or above the percolation threshold with 9–14–16–17–18–21–27 wt. % of CB
Morphology, phase composition, crystallinity, thermal behaviour as well as direct current (DC) electrical conductivity were investigated by using microscopies (FESEM and Atomic force microscopy (AFM)), thermal analyses (TGA and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)) and electrical conductivity investigations
Summary
In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the application of polymer composites. The addition of suitable fillers to polymers can improve certain characteristics, giving rise to new and advanced materials. These results can be obtained by combining the typical properties of macromolecules with filler characteristics, including electrical and thermal conductivities, mechanical strength, wettability, optical properties [7,8,9,10]. In this regard, it is widely accepted that properties of the polymer composites are mainly
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