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In situ electrical resistance and X ‐ray tomography study of copper–tin polymer composites during thermal annealing
Author(s) -
Yang Qing,
Beers Megan Hoarfrost,
Zheng Min,
Lloyd Richard,
Gao Ting,
Parkinson Dilworth
Publication year - 2017
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.45399
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , annealing (glass) , copper , electrical resistivity and conductivity , tin , polyvinylidene fluoride , electrical conductor , electrical resistance and conductance , composite number , polymer , intermetallic , metallurgy , alloy , electrical engineering , engineering
In situ electrical conductivity and X‐ray tomography experiments are conducted on a conductive polymer composite containing polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) copolymer, copper (Cu), and tin (Sn) during thermal annealing. During annealing, the electrical resistivity drops by an order of magnitude, while X‐ray tomography, electron microscopy, and spectroscopy results show increasingly homogeneous dispersion of Sn in the conductive filler network, accompanied by the formation of Cu–Sn intermetallic around Cu and Sn particles. This study provides detailed insight into the morphological origins of the beneficial effect of thermal annealing on the electrical properties of conductive composites containing low melting metal fillers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 45399.