A review on electrically conductive polypropylene and polyethylene

Abstract

Conductive plastics are new generation functional materials with potential application in electronics, space and aviation industries. Polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) being most common, widely available and cheapest thermoplastic, if made conductive, can be revolutionary in the field of engineering thermoplastics. The article deals with the fabrication of electrically conductive PP and PE for electromagnetic interference/ radio frequency (EMI/RF) shielding applications and protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD). It reviews different fillers used by researchers to fabricate conductive PP and PE, several factors that affect the electrical conductivity of thermoplastic composites and various processing methods that can be adopted to prepare such composites. It exhaustively covers the preparation of such conductive composites, the processing methods involved therein, and the electrical properties of the end material. Emphasis has been given to comprehend the percolation threshold and means to reduce the latter in order to achieve high electrical conductivity in PP-and PE-based composites at relatively low filler loading. POLYM. COMPOS., 35:900-914,

Morphology and electrical properties of injection-molded PP carbon-based nanocomposites

“…In both graphs, through-thickness direction (filled squares) and in-plane direction (empty squares) are represented. First of all, as it is reported in literature [14,15], it can be observed that the electrical percolation threshold of EG and CB composites can be found at higher content of filler if compared with MWCNTs. However, the most interesting outcome shown in Figure 1 is related to the comparison of the electrical percolation threshold in the through-thickness direction with the in-plane one.…”

Effects of cellulose fiber content on physical properties of polyurethane based composites

“…10b) shows a net jump from 50 pF to a saturation value close to 95 pF beyond the critical concentration of 10 % of cellulose fiber concentration. Although a percolation phenomenon in electrically percolative polymer-based composites involves a sudden change of several orders of magnitude [54,55], Fig. 10 clearly indicates that something like a percolation effect occurs beyond 10 % of cellulose fiber content.…”

Enhanced dispersion of carbon nanotubes in high density polyethylene matrix using secondary nanofiller and compatibilizer

“…Addition of nanoparticles as fillers in the polymer matrix not only improves the polymer strength, rigidity, and flexibility, but also facilitates the improvement of the polymer light transmission, barrier property, thermal resistance and electrical conductivity [1][2][3][4]. Several nanoparticles have been used as fillers in the polymer matrix so as to achieve the aforesaid functionalities of polymer nanocomposites.…”