Partially miscible poly(lactic acid)‐ blend‐poly(propylene carbonate) filled with carbon black as conductive polymer composite

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Conductive polymer composites (CPCs) can be obtained by filling polymer matrices with electrically conductive particles, and have a wide variety of potential applications. In the work reported, the biodegradable polymer poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as a partially miscible blend with poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) was used as a polymer matrix. Carbon black (CB) was used as the conducting filler. RESULTS: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed interactions between matrix and CB filler; this interaction was stronger in PPC‐blend‐CB than in PLA‐blend‐CB composites. A rheology study showed that low‐viscosity PPC could improve the fluidity of the CPCs, but decrease that of CB. With increasing CB content, the enforcement effect, storage modulus and glass transition temperature increased, but the elongation at break decreased. CPCs exhibited the lowest electrical percolation thresholds of 1.39 vol.% CB when the content of PPC in PLA‐blend‐PPC was 40 wt%. The conductivity of CPCs containing 5.33 vol.% CB and 40 wt% PPC reached 1.57 S cm−1. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that CB exhibits a preference for dispersion in the low‐viscosity phase (PPC) of the multiphase matrix. CONCLUSION: In the presence of CB, partially miscible PLA‐blend‐PPC could form multi‐percolation CPCs. Moreover, the combination of PLA and PPC with CB broadens novel application of both renewable polymers and CPCs. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry

Carbon Dioxide–Derived Poly(propylene carbonate) as a Matrix for Composites and Nanocomposites: Performances and Applications

“…A similar trend of properties was observed in PPC/PLA (70/30 wt%) blend with different concentrations (0–5 phr) of MWCNTs and PPC/PLA (40/60 wt%) blend with up to 5.34 vol% of carbon black (CB) incorporation . Unlike PPC/PLA (90/10 wt%) blend reported by Yang et al., the PPC/PLA (40/60 wt%) blend showed two clear T g values .…”

“…Due to the considerable reinforcing effect of the CB in the matrix, the elongation at break of the PPC/PLA/CB and PPC/CB composites was reduced relative to their corresponding unreinforced samples. Based on the above‐mentioned characteristics, PPC/PLA/MWCNTs and PP/PLA/CB composites have the greatest potential to be used in electromagnetic shielding and antistatic plastic applications …”

Melt Processing and Characterization of Bionanocomposites Made from Poly(butylene succinate) Bioplastic and Carbon Black

“…The storage modulus for the 5 wt.‐% carbon black loaded composite had an overall increase of 19% compared to the neat PBS (Figure ), which is consistent with the tensile and flexural moduli (Figure and ). Storage modulus has also been shown to increase when carbon black has been added to other polymers such as poly(lactic acid) and poly(propylene carbonate) . The gain in storage modulus is due to the nanoparticle–polymer interactions that are acting as reinforcement within the matrix.…”

“…Storage modulus has also been shown to increase when carbon black has been added to other polymers such as poly(lactic acid) and poly(propylene carbonate). [17] The gain in storage modulus is due to the nanoparticle-polymer interactions that are acting as reinforcement within the matrix.…”

“…[15,16] Researchers are now testing carbon black as filler in the new biopolymers entering the market place to increase the electrical and thermal properties, while reducing the amount of petro based material to give rise to green composites. [17][18][19] One specific biopolymer that is able to compete with the conventional polypropylene and polyethylene is the aliphatic polyester known as poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). [20] This polymer is biodegradable and is now also being synthesized from biobased resources, providing further incentive to study this material.…”