Conductive Elastomer Composites Based on Inherent and Extrinsic Conductive Polymers

Abstract

Summary: Printed Electronics is the designation given to a set of new technological routes for the manufacture of electronic devices which are light, discrete, flexible, and capable of folding. These devices require power sources that share these properties. This paper is focused on how to obtain electrically conductive elastomer composites. These elastomeric composite materials are obtained by mechanical mixing of electronic and ionic conductive polymers with commercial grade styrenebutadiene rubbers (SBS). The produced materials had good capacitance, thus performing well as rechargeable batteries. These materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrical conductivity measurements to quantify the abundance and distribution of conductive polymers within the rubbery matrix. Our generated experimental results were used to test the predictive power of two mathematical equations based on Hashin-Shtrikman models and composites theory, respectively. Electrical conductivity vs voltage profiles for these conductive elastomer composites were adequately predicted by these models.

Advances in Materials for Soft Stretchable Conductors and Their Behavior under Mechanical Deformation

“…While PEDOT:PSS is one of the more often explored conductive polymers, other types of conductive polymers include polyaniline (PANI) [ 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 ] and polypyrrole (PPy) [ 148 , 149 , 150 ] and conductive hydrogels blends like polydopamine/polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel (PDA/PVA) [ 151 ] through the incorporation of conductive polymers into a hydrogel matrix to create materials that are more mechanically compliant and comparable to soft biological tissue. Conductive polymers can also be blended into a thermoplastic elastomer such SEBS due to their high surface energy compatibility for improved mechanical properties [ 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 ].…”