Design and fabrication of electro‐conductive polymer nanocomposites with mechanical and thermal resistance

Abstract

The commencement of the industrial revolution paved the way for the fabrication of flexible polymers with high-strength metalloceramics as novel materials of all kinds. Fabricating metal-ceramic/polymer conductive composites is one such dimension followed for the present research work making use of the properties of the three components. Electroless deposition, for permanent metallic coating, was performed to coat Al 2 O 3 with metallic Cu followed by the inclusion of the Cu-Al 2 O 3 filler into a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix. X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray studies predicted a prominent growth of metallic Cu crystallites onto Al 2 O 3 with an increased average size and variation in elemental composition, respectively, when compared to pristine Al 2 O 3 . Morphological behaviour via scanning electron microscopy also envisioned uniform Cu coating onto Al 2 O 3 and a homogeneous dispersion throughout the polymer matrix. When incorporated into PVC, electrical conductivity analysis highlighted a distinct variation in composite phases from insulating (7.14 × 10 −16 S cm −1 ) to semiconducting behaviour (8.33 × 10 −5 S cm −1 ) as a function of Cu-Al 2 O 3 filler. Mechanical behaviour (tensile strength, Young's modulus and elongation at break) and thermal properties of the prepared composites also indicated a substantial improvement in material strength with Cu-Al 2 O 3 incorporation. The enhanced electrical conductivity along with improved thermomechanical status with significant filler-matrix interaction permits the potential usage of such novel composites in a range of state-of-the-art semiconducting electronic devices.

Design and testing of high‐density polyethylene nanocomposites filled with lead oxide micro‐ and nano‐particles: Mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties

“…Inorganic polymer nanocomposites have become of major interest over the past few decades owing to their numerous applications and their low cost. In general, the insertion of inorganic fillers, including metallic oxides, metal powders, ceramics, nonmetal oxides and natural fillers, into polymeric matrices results in the enhancement of the thermal, mechanical, electrical, and rheological properties of the generated composites . The choice of inorganic filler depends on the desired and/or required properties.…”