Producing Conductive Polymer Composites by Placing Graphene at the Interfaces of the Blended Polymers

Most conductive materials are made of metals but there is a special class of plastics, conductive polymer composites (CPCs), made from a mixture of polymer with conductive fillers. CPCs have the potential to exhibit unique mechanical and electronic properties but are challenging and expensive to manufacture. Currently, CPCs require a large amount of conductive fillers which greatly increases the cost of the materials and seriously degrades their mechanical strength, limiting implementation. This award will enable a new manufacturing method for CPCs through the selective placement of graphene, a highly conductive filler, in a polymer. By understanding how to locally control the filler placement, much less filler is needed, reducing both cost and the risk of degrading the strength of the composite material. The academic team has established connections with industry partners who recognize the potential impact of such a development.

This research aims to create CPCs with desired properties via engineering the morphology of co-continuous polymer blends. The interface between two immiscible polymers of the co-continuous blends provides a percolating scaffold for graphene. The sparse percolating structure of the interface, as well as the large aspect ratio of graphene, will significantly reduce the amount of conductive fillers needed in CPCs and, therefore, cut the cost of manufacturing. Moreover, by choosing non-conductive yet mechanically strong polymers for the co-continuous blends, the approach can also greatly improve the mechanical properties of CPCs. The research will deliver scientific insight into the effect of the interfacial graphene on the morphology and properties of the CPCs.