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Effect of the carbon black structure on the stability and efficiency of the conductive network in polyethylene composites
Author(s) -
Ren Danqi,
Zheng Shaodi,
Huang Shilin,
Liu Zhengying,
Yang Mingbo
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.38606
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , carbon black , percolation threshold , composite number , polyethylene , high density polyethylene , crystallization , morphology (biology) , electrical resistivity and conductivity , chemical engineering , natural rubber , engineering , biology , electrical engineering , genetics
Composites of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) with different kinds of carbon black (CB) were prepared through melt blending. The influence of the CB structure on the stability and efficiency of the conductive network in HDPE/CB composites were mainly investigated. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the morphology of the CB primary aggregates. The relationship between the temperature‐resistivity behaviors of the composites and the crystallization behaviors of the matrix were also investigated. High‐structure CB built an effective conductive network at a low filler content compared to the low‐structure one because of its branched morphology. Therefore, the composite containing high‐structure CB revealed a lower percolation threshold. The composite containing low‐structure CB obtained a stronger positive temperature coefficient (PTC) intensity because the cluster network was fragile and easily damaged during matrix melting. The reproducibility of the results of PTC effect of the composite containing high‐structure CB was better than that of the composite containing a low‐structure one. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013