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pps proceeding
Symposium: S08 - Nanocarbon Based Composites, with CNPComp2017
Oral Presentation
 
 

Carbon Nanoparticle Surface Modification for Thermoplastic Polymers

Schumm Benjamin (1)*, Abendroth Thomas (1), Althues Holger (1)

(1) Fraunhofer IWS - Saxony - Germany

Polymers exhibiting an electrically conductive surface are crucial for being used in different products. The demands for conductivity depend on application: for antistatic properties a sheet resistance of 1e5 - 1e9 Ù, for electro-optical applications a sheet resistance 1e2 Ù is required. To achieve surfaces with electrical conductivity additives, such as surfactants and filler materials or coatings are applied. However, many restrictions need to be considered for choosing the best additive or coating for a certain polymer, as they directly influence the durability in arid conditions (surfactants), mechanical and optical properties (filler) and costs (coating). At Fraunhofer IWS a process was developed for refining polymeric surfaces in order to achieve electrical conductivity, which can be applied in conventional roll-to-roll (R2R) and injection molding processes. High aspect ratio nanomaterials forming a nanoscaled network were therefore deposited either on calender cylinder (R2R) or mold cavity (injection molding) and afterwards transferred and integrated into polymeric surface. In dependence of film thickness and nanomaterials being used different optical transparency and sheet resistances in the range of 1e2-1e6 Ù can be adjusted. Due to the nanomaterials only are integrated into polymeric surface, a high durability of electrical properties is provided and a very low material consumption is needed. The mechanical bulk properties of the refined element are not affected by the nanomaterials. By using this new technology, high transparent (>90 %) antistatic (~1e5 Ù) polymeric devices were produced by integrating a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) network with an areal load of 25 mg/m2 either into PE and PET-foils or PC or PMMA elements. Easy implementation in already existing production processes and very inexpensive material costs (< 0,01 €) render this nanomaterial integration technology for manufacturing electrically conductive polymer foils and devices.