Superposition approach for description of electrical conductivity in sheared MWNT/polycarbonate melts

Abstract

The theoretical description of electrical properties of polymer melts, filled with attractively interacting conductive particles, represents a great challenge. Such filler particles tend to build a network-like structure which is very fragile and can be easily broken in a shear flow with shear rates of about 1 s–1. In this study, measured shear-induced changes in electrical conductivity of polymer composites are described using a superposition approach, in which the filler particles are separated into a highly conductive percolating and low conductive non-percolating phases. The latter is represented by separated well-dispersed filler particles. It is assumed that these phases determine the effective electrical properties of composites through a type of mixing rule involving the phase volume fractions. The conductivity of the percolating phase is described with the help of classical percolation theory, while the conductivity of non-percolating phase is given by the matrix conductivity enhanced by the presence of separate filler particles. The percolation theory is coupled with a kinetic equation for a scalar structural parameter which describes the current state of filler network under particular flow conditions. The superposition approach is applied to transient shear experiments carried out on polycarbonate composites filled with multi-wall carbon nanotubes.

Keywords

• Nanocomposites
• multi-wall carbon nanotubes
• electrical conductivity
• shear flow
• modeling