Anisotropic, electrically conductive polymer composites have specialized applications such as providing directional interconnection in electronic devices. Here, we create anisotropic conductive polymer composites by loading graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) into a co-continuous polymer blend of polylactide (PLA) and poly(ethylene-<i>co</i>-vinyl acetate) (EVA) using a two-step compounding sequence. First, GNPs were solution blended with the thermodynamically unfavored PLA into a PLA/GNP masterbatch. Then, the PLA/GNP masterbatch is melt compounded with EVA to form the polymer composite. This approach allows for the interfacial localization of GNPs, resulting in highly conductive composites (~10<sup>-6</sup> S/cm) despite the low GNP loading of 0.5 wt%. Second, a high strength AC electric field was applied in the polymer melt to align the GNPs, which further enhanced the electrical conductivity in the field direction. Using rheology, impedance spectroscopy, electrical conductivity measurement, and quantitative TEM image analysis, we systematically study the effects of electric field waveform, blend viscosity, and filler localization on the final morphology, mechanical properties, and anisotropic electrical conductivity in these conductive polymer composites.

Electric field aligns graphene in co-continuous polymer blends to create electrically conductive composites

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.