Light‐colored conductive nanorod‐mediated co‐continuous polypropylene/poly(butylene succinate) blends: Regulatory mechanism, morphology evolution, electrical, and optical properties

Abstract

It is still a critical challenge to prepare engineering plastics with multi‐functionalities and high‐performances while considering their aesthetic properties and dyeing processes. In this study, a light‐colored conductive nanorod (CNR) was employed to mediate the morphology of immiscible polypropylene/poly(butylene succinate) (PP/PBS) blends. The CNR could be only located in polar PBS phase to effectively control the viscoelasticity ratio between binary phases. By incorporating just 9 per hundred resins (phr) of CNR, the sea‐island structure of PP/PBS (70/30) would transform a stable co‐continuous morphology of PP/PBS/CNR (70/30/9). The addition of CNR led to a significant reduction in blends' surface resistivity and volume resistivity. Simultaneously, the mechanical properties and appearance colors of the ternary blends were improved. The effect of CNR in morphological mediation was further verified with PP/poly(butylene adipate terephthalate)/CNR (PP/PBAT/CNR) and PP/poly(ε‐caprolactone)/CNR (PP/PCL/CNR) blends. In summary, this work provided a desirable engineering plastic, demonstrating permanent antistatic performance, improved mechanical properties and good colorability.