The use of high contents of carbon fillers in polymeric composites may decrease the mechanical properties of the polymeric matrices, as well as reduce their processability and increase the production costs of antistatic packaging used in the electronic industry. Therefore, it is of great technological interest the research on alternative approaches to produce polymer composites with low electrical percolation threshold. In this way, this review article focuses on the discussion of the main factors that interfere in the electrical percolation threshold of electrically conductive polymer composites, such as the aspect ratio of the carbon fillers and its particle size, the compatibility between the composite phases, the crystallinity degree of the polymeric matrix, the processing route and the location of fillers in multi-phase polymer blends. Additionally, the review article reports the latest studies related to the obtainment of polymer composites with low percolation threshold contents and produced with different types of carbon fillers.
Antistatic packages are used to protect and storage sensitive electronic compounds, plates, and integrated circuit. To produce antistatic packages, polymers must have good mechanical properties and low electrical resistivity to prevent the accumulation of static electricity and damage the stored product. Many polymers can be used to produce packages, especially polyolefins. In the field of sustainable packaging, green low‐density polyethylene (green LDPE) has been highlighting in recent years due to its origin: sugar cane. Thus, it is a green polymer that has the same properties as LDPE obtained from petroleum. Due to its insulating character, it is necessary the addition of conductive fillers, thus in this work, glassy carbon (GC) was used as a conductive filler. GC is a carbon material made from furfuryl alcohol resin obtained from rice husk or sugar cane, it is a conductive material and can decrease the electrical resistivity of the green LDPE/GC composite, making it possible to use as an antistatic packaging. Eco‐friendly green composites based on green LDPE/GC with different contents of GC (0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt%) were prepared using a thermokinetic homogenizer. The green composites were characterized by mechanical and thermal properties, structural characteristics, water vapor permeability, optical properties, and impedance spectroscopy. The results indicate that the use of green LDPE/GC composites with low concentrations of GC (0.1 wt%) is feasible for the preparation of antistatic packaging since the green composites showed low electrical resistivity and improvement in elastic modulus.
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