Electrical and Rheological Percolation in PC/SAN/MWCNT Nanocomposite

The role of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on morphology and electrical conductivity of PC/SAN with the same blend ratio but varying CNT content was studied by means of a combination of rheology and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. A pronounced low frequency solid-like behavior of molten nanocomposited blends suggested a fine state of dispersion and a strong 3D network formed in the samples with the concentration about 0.4 %wt. CNT localization was found to be mainly determined by the thermodynamic parameters relative to kinetic parameters. Thermodynamic calculations predicted a preferential localization of CNTs in PC phase and this study shows that order of feeding doesn’t play a significant role in nanotubes distribution in the blend constituent. An electrical percolation threshold about 0.2% wt. was found for the samples prepared with direct feeding which is closed to the rheological percolation

Keywords:

rheology , conductive , percolation , polycarbonate , Styrene-co-acrylonitrile , carbon nanotubes