Polymer composites with (semi)-conductive nano-fillers

José Brokken-Zijp, Ming Yuan, Laura Huijbregts, Wilfred Kleinjan, Gijsbertus de With

The use of nano-fillers in polymer matrices is an important research subject at this moment, because it has been shown that by lowering the size of the filler to nano level, major improvements in the material properties of a polymer matrix can be realized. However, only a few polymer nano-composites are commercialized yet and these products can be, generally, used only in specific applications. Important reasons for the limited commercialization of these products are the limited amount of attractive nano-fillers commercially available, the lack of knowledge on the influence of processing conditions and chosen starting formulations on the morphology and the material properties of the polymer nano-composites produced. This lack of knowledge is especially large when a thermoset polymer is used in the form of thin coatings.  

During the last years several nano-filler thermoset polymer coating combinations has been studied in depth in our group. The main focus has been on crosslinked acrylate and epoxy coatings containing different types of (semi)-conductive nano-fillers. In this presentation an overview will be given on our results of the last years. The focus will be on the relation between the initial formulation and processing conditions used, the morphology and the final conductivity properties of these coatings. Explanations will be presented why crosslinked thermoset nano-composites, in general, are conductive only when specific filler matrix combinations are used and why these composites have to be prepared within a small processing window.