SEBS/PPy.DBSA blends: Preparation and evaluation of electromechanical and dynamic mechanical properties

Abstract

In this study, the electromechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of electrically conducting polymer blends were investigated. The blends were comprised poly(styrene-b-butylene-ran-ethylene-b-styrene) (SEBS) containing polypyrrole doped with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (PPy.DBSA). The two types of PPy.DBSA (with and without an excess of DBSA) were blended with SEBS through the solution casting method at room temperature. The dynamic mechanical characterization of the SEBS/ PPy.DBSA blends demonstrated that the use of PPy.DBSA with and without free DBSA molecules results in different degrees of interaction with the two phases of the SEBS copolymer matrix. The changes in the electrical conductivity of the blends during repeated pressure loading/unloading were investigated. The conducting SEBS/PPy.DBSA polymer blends exhibited an increase in the electrical conductivity on pressure loading and underwent a corresponding decrease on unloading.

The effect of compressive stress on the electrically resistivity of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polypyrrole blends

“…From the fitting of the experimental data, f p and t values of 4 wt% and 1.1, respectively, have been found. The percolation threshold observed in this study is quite similar to that reported for the PVDF/PANI.DBSA blend [24], but it is much lower than that observed on SEBS/PANI.DBSA and SEBS/PPy.DBSA blends [9,20]. This behavior is probably induced by the good compatibility between PVDF and PPy components that induces a conducting network formation into PVDF matrix at very low PPy concentration.…”

“…in which c is a constant, t a critical exponent, the resistivity, f the fraction of the conductive medium and f p the fraction at the percolation threshold, expressed as a weight fraction [9,20,27]. From the fitting of the experimental data, f p and t values of 4 wt% and 1.1, respectively, have been found.…”

“…Kalasad et al [19] demonstrated that the pressure sensitivity of polyaniline/cis-1,4-polyisoprene blends is highly influenced by the PANI content. In our previous works, we have demonstrated that the incorporation of PANI or polypyrrole (PPy) into thermoplastic elastomer is an excellent alternative to produce conducting blends with good electrical conductivity and electrical-mechanical response changes [9,18,20]. Moreover, many works in the literature have reported interesting results concerning the production and characterization of PVDF/PPy or PANI blends [21][22][23]; however, few of them have exploited the properties of these materials for pressure sensing applications.…”

“…Several authors have studied the electro-mechanical response of conductive polymer blends based on intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) which are mainly produced through solution or melt processing methods [7][8][9]11,[18][19][20]. One of the main challenge in developing these materials is how to reach an adequate pressure sensitivity at low conducting filler concentration in order to minimize processing complexity and depletion of the mechanical properties of the host-insulating polymer [18].…”

Novel electrically conductive polyurethane/montmorillonite-polypyrrole nanocomposites

“…One approach to possibly overcome the above limitations is blending PPy with commercial insulating polymers to produce conductive polymer blends or composites [3,11,27,[29][30][31][32][33]. Among the methods mentioned in the scientific literature, melt mixing offers the advantages of large-scale production and reduced cost which are the bases for any industrial application.…”