pps proceeding - Abstract Preview
pps proceeding
Symposium: S13 - Polymer Blends
Poster Presentation
 
 

PS/PP Polymer Blends Containing Carbon Nanotubes and Block Copolymer Compatibilizer for EMI Shielding Applications

Otero Navas Ivonne (1), Sundararaj Uttandaraman (1)*

(1) University of Calgary - Alberta - Canada

Conductive filler/polymer composites (CPCs) have gained increasing popularity in the field of polymer science and industry mainly because of their numerous applications: electromagnetic shielding material, conductive film, antistatic packaging applications as well as in highly specialized components in the electronics, automotive and aerospace sectors. Different conductive fillers such as carbon nanotubes, carbon black particles, graphene, cooper nanowires etc. have been mixed with polymer matrices in order to obtain CPCs with advantageous EMI shielding properties. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are suitable fillers for EMI shielding applications. In this work, multiphase polymer blends of polystyrene (PS)/polypropylene (PP)/ styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) with different morphologies have been studied. Blends with higher polystyrene content show better EMI shielding and electrical properties than blends with higher content of polypropylene. Adding a third phase, SBS copolymer as compatibilizer to the blend modifies the structure and the electrical properties. In the compatibilized samples, an increase in electrical conductivity is observed, and a small increase in EMI shielding is also obtained. This is due to the change in the structure due to the processing and addition of the third compatibilizer phase. Processing conditions and other related factors like filler orientation, filler content and filler morphology, particle size and structure, as well as filler–filler and filler–matrix interactions are studied in order to evaluate their influence in the final EMI shielding properties. This work gives exciting evidence that the processing and blend formulation can be used to create low percolation polymer composites and high EMI shielding with CNT.