Analyzing the electrical conductivity of hybrid carbon nanotube/graphene nanoplatelet polymer-matrix nanocomposites: An extended physics-based modeling approach

Abstract

There exists a pressing need for polymeric nanocomposites exhibiting enhanced electrical properties when subjected to external electric fields. Via the development of an efficient model based on the physical-analytical relations, the electrical conductivity and percolation threshold of ternary nanocomposites enriched with the synergy of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are investigated. In so doing, the electrical conductivity of carbon nano-additives is first computed using a discretizer scheme, and subsequently, by incorporating the basic electrical conduction mechanisms and employing the average polarization theory, insights into the overall electrical behavior of CNT/GNP/polymer networks are elucidated. The formulation of the extended framework is in the form of case assessments covering effects of volume fraction and geometry of carbonaceous nanofillers, contribution of the interphase region, which serves as an electron hopping duct, tunneling distance, and electrical potential barrier height. In connection with validation, satisfactory alignment between the predicted outcomes and experimental results substantiates the efficacy of the proposed approach for both binary and ternary nanocomposites. Moreover, parametric studies reveal the remarkable sensitivity of electrical properties of nanocomposites to the aforementioned factors. These findings are valuable and enlightening for the design and manufacturing of highly conductive systems, resulting in time and financial savings.

Keywords

• Polymer nanocomposites
• Carbon nanotubes
• Graphene nanoplatelets
• Electrical conductivity
• Extended physics-based model