Electrically Conductive Polymer Composites

and Blends*
BIING-LIN LEE

Research and Development Center

The BFGoodrich Company
Brecksville. Ohio 441 41
Increasing utilization of the electrical properties of polymeric blends and
composites has prompted our renewed interest in developing a general working
relationship which can explain the electrical properties of polymer composites
and blends in terms of processing characteristics, morphology, and compositions. Here, we restrict our attention to the following two-component systems:
(1) two component systems with conductive particulate inclusions (e.g. carbon
black) embedded in a continuous polymeric matrix, and (2) two component
polymer blend systems with one conductive polymer (e.g., polyether copolymer)
dispersed in another continuous polymeric matrix. The following processing
aspects related to the electrical property of particulate filled composites are
discussed: (1)critical concentration of rigid conductive fillers, 4c,and (2)redistribution of conductive fillers upon processing. An equation based on the crowding
factor of concentrated suspension rheology and Janzen's particle contacts percolation is proposed to describe the relationship between 4,, and the maximum
packing fraction of conductive fillers. The relationship is used to explain
the influence of particle morphology on conductivity, and the conductivity
difference in the high shear and the low shear region of a processed polymer
composite part. Furthermore, some qualitative guidelines for blending a low
conductivity polyether copolymer to achieve an overall balance of antistatic and
mechanical properties of polymer blends are also discussed.
INTRODUCTION

he ability of polymers to act as electrical insulators is the basis for their manifold applications
in the electrical and electronic areas. But there are
many cases when the electrical conductivity of polymeric materials is required, such as the dissipation
of electrostatic charge from rubber and plastic parts,
and the shielding of plastic boxes from the effects of
electromagnetic waves ( 1). Consequently, material
engineers have long sought to combine the versatility of polymers with the electrical properties of metals. The advantages relate not only to the ability to
produce electrically conductive materials, but also
the ability to modify their electrical characteristics
with wide limits.
The method currently used to increase the electrical conductivity of polymers is to fill them with
specific conductive additives, such as metallic powders (2), metallic fibers (3),carbon black (4-7), ionic
conductive polymers (8-lo), and intrinsically conductive polymeric powders, e.g. polypyrrole ( 1 1, 12).
Some mechanisms of electrical conduction in filled

__

*Presenied in part at the 61st Annual Meeting of the Society of Rheology. Montreal, Canada Oct 21-26. 1989

36

composites have been reported (5,6, 13).In the case

of metal filled systems, Frenkel proposed Ihe electron tunneling theory to describe the contact resistance between two metallic bodies ( 1 3 ) . In the case
of carbon black filled composites, Sheng, Sichel, and
Gittleman have shown that tunneling activated by
thermal fluctuation of the electric potential is the
dominant mechanism under certain conditions (5,
6).
In this paper, we will discuss the relationship of
the particle morphology to the critical volume fraction of conductive fillers required to achieve a semiconductor for particulate filled composites. We will
then discuss the influence of mixing and/or processing on the electrical properties of polymeric composites. We will also discuss the antistatic properties of
polymer blends containing a low conductivity
polyether copolymer.
ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE POLYMER
COMPOSITES

The behavior of composites made with an insulator polymer and conductive filler is quite interesting. First of all, a polymer composite could change
from an insulator to a (semi)conductor over a very

POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE, MID-JANUARY 1992, VOl. 32, NO. 1

Electrically Conductive Polymer Composites and Blends

+,

narrow range of filler concentrations. At low filler

concentrations, the composite remains an effective
insulator. At a critical volume concentration, the
conductivity of the composite starts to increase
sharply to a level at which the composite can conduct electricity. An additional increase in filler content has a much smaller effect: a plateau is attained.
From the compounding and processing points of
view, it is very important that the relationship of the
required to
minimum concentration of fillers
achieve a semiconductor could be determined a priori. Namely, we are looking for the general relationas a function of the morphology of partiship of
cles, e.g., maximum packing fraction of fillers (or
structure of fillers), and how it is influenced by
processing and mixing.
In fact, in an insulating matrix containing randomly dispersed conductive particles, probability
calculations predict a sharp change (indeed, a power
law dependence) in conductance when the volume
of the conductive particles reaches a critical volume
called the percolation threshold (14). This theoretical volume depends on the hypothetical shape and
distribution of the particles (14). According to the
formation of interparticle contacts (15, 16), the required critical concentration of fillers is dependent
on the packing mode of the conductive particles.
Generally, it predicts that the critical volume fracdecreases as the maximum packing fraction,
tion of powder, + M , increases. It does not suggest an
explanation for observed threshold loadings of silver
spheres loading approaching 30% (2, 17).
Janzen studied the effects of the structure of fillers
on the percolation threshold, with emphasis on the
number of contacts that a particle makes with its
neighbors, rather than the bond or site percolation
probability. He proposed the following equation to
to some properties of carbon black in the
relate
systems of carbon black filled polymers (17):

+,

could relate
to
of some known behavior of
filled conductive polymer composites. We further
use +m, the maximum packing fraction of fillers, as
a gross parameter to describe the morphology of
particles.
According to Janzen (17). the essential plan is to
obtain
as the solution of a particle-loaded composite system:

+,

+,

+,

is the critical volume fraction of particles

where
for particle network formation.
Cp is the critical mean number of contacts per
particle a t which the probability of an infinite particle-particle chain formation first becomes non-zero.
According to Gurland (2) and Janzen (17).a value of
1.5 for Cp might be used.
Z is the maximum number of possible contacts
per particle (i.e. coordination number). It is related
to the structure of packing (see Table 1) (18). The
coordination number ( 2 )increases sharply as the
maximum packing fraction ( + m ) of fillers increases.
The next step is to find an appropriate formula for
f(+,).We may assume f(+,) to be of the following
form:

+,

+,,

(3)
+m

The form M is similar to that of Mooneys approach

on concentrated suspension rheology (19).Table 2
shows the value of +,, for several grades of carbon
black and some fillers of different morphology (20).
We also show in Table 2 that Brabender shear mixing of dry carbon black causes an increase in the

+,

+,=

Table 1. Coordination Number of Equal Size Spheres

in Regular Arrangement (18).

1
1 +4pv

4m

where p = density of carbon black

v = Dibutylphthalate (DBP) value of carbon
black sample in cm3/g measured on a
compressed sample according to ASTM
D3493-76
=specific void space of random dense
packed filler
Equation 1 describes a simple relation of the 4, to
the apparent change of morphology of filler partifrom higher v. That is,
cles, v. It predicts lower
decreases as +m decreases. It expresses semiquantitative rationalization of polymer-embedded
metal spheres and rubbers containing carbon black
(17). However, it under-estimates some known behaviors of rubbers and plastics containing carbon
black.
In the following, we use Janzens argument of
particle network and propose a relationship which

+,

VOl.

Z
(Coordination
Number)

0.34
0.52
0.60
0.70
0.74

4
6
8
10
12

Tetrahedral
Cubic
Tetragonal
Rhombohedra1
Hexagonal

Table 2. Some Typical Values of Maximum Packing

Fraction of Fillers b,, (20).

+,

POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE, MID-JANUARY 7992,

(Maximum Packing
Fraction)

Particles

Type of Packing

Sphere
Ground spheres
Ground table salt
Carbon black N330
(as-received)
Carbon black N330
(Brabender sheared)
Carbon black N229
Ketjen black

Random close packing

Random packing
Random
Random

32, NO. 1

4ln
0.637
0.458
0.60
0.25

Random

> 0.30

Random
Random

0.22
0.1 1

37

Biing-Lin Lee

-..-..

value of 9,. This is due to the breakdown of the

carbon black structure under shear. In mixing process that is necessary to produce a good dispersion
of carbon black generally leads to some breakdown
of carbon black aggregates. This also causes a decrease of shear viscosity and modulus (20, 21). We
further assume L is of the form, which is related to
4,:

Eq 1

-A

_ _ _ _,Eq(6)
_.
0

(SeeTextforA&B)

Gurland, 1966; Silver Sphere in Bakelite

Kraus, Svetlik, 1956; N330/SBR

0.4

Kraus. Svetlik. 1956; N330iNR

(4)

0
._
c

0.3

a,

Please note that Janzen ( 17) assumed the following

relation to obtain Eq 1

s
L

a,
._
LL

(5)

When Eqs 3 and 4 are substituted into Eq 2 and

the equation is solved for +c, the result is:

._ 0.2

k?
0.1

Now we will elaborate on the effects of particle morphology and mixing on the conductivity of composites according to Eq 6.
1. In Fig. 1, we plot the +c of a variety of fillers
according to Eq 6, in which we use &, as a gross
parameter to describe the morphology of particles. It also predicts that q5c increases as 4, increases. In curve A of Fig. 1 (solid line), we use
the relationship described in Table 1 to estimate
.4,
In curve B (dashed line), the random
densely-packed mono-disperse spheres are discussed, in which we use Z = 6 (22). The estimated 4c for mono-disperse conductive spheres
is predicted to be in the range of 0.30 to 0.37.
This is reasonably in agreement with the results
reported by Gurland for a system of silver spheres
in Bakelite (2). Gurlands data showed that c $ ~=
0.30 is close to the onset of a sharp increase in
conductivity, while dc = 0.38 approaches the concentration above which the conductivity would
just gradually increase. In Fig. 1 , we also show
the relationship of 4, and $c of Ketjen black
loaded in a melt-mixed PVC matrix, and N 3 3 0
carbon black in SBR and the natural rubber matrix (23). Despite a wide range of different morphology of fillers (i.e. black with high porosity,
black with high structure, and conductive silver
sphere), the results appear to be quite in agreement with the relation described by E q 6.
2. It has been known that the electrical conductivity
of carbon black reinforced polymeric composites
is determined by the properties of the particular
grade as well as the loading of black used. According to our analysis, the maximum packing
fraction of fillers, which is related to the structure
and porosity of black, is an even more significant
factor. Other properties being equal, Eq 6 implies
increasing conductivity with increasing structure
3a

I
0.1

1
0.2

1
0.3

I
0.4

I
0.5

I
0.6

I
0.7

I
0.8

Om, Maximum Packing Fraction

Fig. 1 . Critical jllter concentration, @=, versus the maxim u m packing fraction of fillers, @ m .

of black. This is in agreement with the experimental results in rubber compounding (4,7, 17).
3. The electrical conductivity of polymer composites is strongly dependent on mixing. Figure 2
shows the conductivity of two different compositions of Ketjen black loaded PVC composites
as a function of mixing conditions (24).The composites were made by melt mixing using a
Brabender internal mixer at 190C followed by
compression molding. The composites formed
under different mixing times from identical starting materials showed different conductivities. A
composite with longer melt shear mixing exhibited a lower conductivity (i.e., nigher resistivity).
The composites formed by direct compression
molding of the powder mixture (i.e. with a minimum shear mixing) exhibited a high conductivity. This phenomenon may be due to dispersive
mixing. Generally, the carbon black structure
could be broken down due to intensive shear
mixing. This, in turn, increases 4m (see Table 2)
and the interaggrate separation, and consequently, decreases the chance of conductive network formation. In rubber compounding, it has
been reported that the conductivity of a carbon
black-rubber composite increases rapidly during
the very first stages of mixing, as carbon black
is incorporated and conductive pathways are

POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE, MID-JANUARY 1992, Vol. 32, NO. 1

Electrically Conductive Polymer Composites and Blends

established between the islands of rubber-filled
pellet fragments; the conductivity then decreases
gradually during the later states of dispersive
mixing (25-30). These results also imply that,
technologically, defined values of conductivity of
filled system may be achieved via compression
molding of polymer chips and/or particulates
coated with a conductive filler. Indeed, electrostatic dissipative floor tiles are made this way
(see Fig. 3).
4. The conductivity of injection molded-composites
of carbon-black thermoplastics is lower than that
of the corresponding compression molded samples (31). This is presumably due to the break-

=0

Direct Powder Compression Forming

0 Brabender Melt Mixing at 190C

1

O0I

down of the black aggregate structure under high

shear and also due to the existence of a polymerrich skin layer. Since injection molded parts normally show a layered structure (i.e. skin and core
structure), the conductivity distribution in injection molded composites is expected to be more
complicated. Accordingly, we sectioned the skin
of an injection molded Ketjen black loaded PVC
composite and measured its conductivity. We observed that the skin layer, i.e., high shear zones,
had a substantially lower conductivity than did
the core region.
5. The conductivity of filled polymer systems can
be improved by the addition of a second polymer
of lower viscosity. Table 3 shows our results on
the effects of adding a thermotropic liquid crystal
polymer to carbon black-PVC composites. The
composition was melt-mixed using a Brabender
internal mixer at 190C for 5 min followed by
compression molding. In the presence of Klucel H
(a thermotropic liquid crystal polymer), the conductivity of carbon black loaded PVC composites
(CPD D) was improved even with a lesser concentration of carbon black. The reason for this is that
the thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer reduces the melt viscosity of the PVC matrix, and
consequently, reduces the chance of the breakdown of the carbon black structure. Similarly,
the conductivity of Ketjen black loaded PVC composites can be improved by increasing the melt
mixing temperature (from 190C to 200C) or by
using a resin with a low molecular weight to
reduce the melt viscosity.

20 PHR Black

I-/
Brabender Mixing Time (min)

Fig. 2. Electrical resistivity of Ketjen black-PVC composites as a function of mixing conditions.

polymer compounding

--+

surface coating of
conductive fillers

-+

-+

pelletizing

crushing

compression molding

LOW CONDUCTIVITY POLYMER BLENDS

Permanent antistatic property is becoming a more

and more frequently required attribute of plastic
and rubber materials. Packaging for electronic components is one of many examples. In many applications, the values of conductivity achieved with carbon black with a concentration higher than +c (in
the plateau region) are too high, since special
grounding measures often have to be taken for the
sake of safety.
To set definite values of resistivity between lo6 to
10" ohmlsquare as required for a number of antistatic application, several ways are possible: 1) the
compounding of the most accurate concentration of
conductive fillers in the region of critical volume
concentration as discussed in the previous section,
Table 3. Effect of Klucel H, a Thermotropic Liquid Crystal
Polymer, on the Conductivity of Carbon Black Loaded
PVC Composites.

surface finishing

CpdA

polymer matrix

PVC compound*
/

conductive path

Fig. 3. A schematic procedure for making electrostatic

dissipative tiles.

Ketjen black
Klucel H
Resistivity (ohm-cm)

100
10
0
60

CpdB

CpdC

CpdD

100

100
30
0
0.6

100
14

20
0
3.0

3.0

*The PVC compound contained thermal stabilization, lubricant, and impact

modifier.

POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE, MID-JANUARY 1992, VOI. 32, NO.1

39

Biing-Lin Lee
2) the use of a lesser conductive filler in the plateau
of the conductivity versus concentration curve, and
3) the use of conductive alloying polymeric additives
with a resistivity in the range of lo5 and 10l2
ohmlsquare.
The first method can be applied by the controlled
addition of conductive carbon black. The surface
resistivity can be compounded in the range of 10' to
10" ohmlsquare, which is the range required to
guarantee a satisfactory insulation between the contacts, while maintaining a resistivity low enough for
electrostatic dissipation. However, some of the disadvantages of carbon black are sloughing, contamination of clean room environment, and embrittling
of thermoplastics. Another drawback black is that it
can only provide one color: black (32).
The second method to obtain a defined low conductivity is to use fillers that have a lower conductivity than the usual conductive carbon black. However, they do have a tendency to increase the melt
viscosity for processing and to decrease physical
properties such as impact resistance (33). In this
case, an appropriate chosen blend of polymers as
the matrix material is preferred, since filler additives can form networks aligning between the polymeric interface.
A new method to obtain a defined low conductivity is to use a high molecular weight polyether
copolymer melt-blended with an insulating pdymer
(8 10).The copolymer, hereafter referred to as ESD
polymer, is intrinsically conductive with a resistivity of 10" ohmlsquare. When the conductive polymer networks form, the resistivity values of the
blends are in the range lolo to 10l2 ohmlsquare to
be effective to impart a permanent anti-static property (9, 10) (see Fig. 4). The static dissipative permanence is also independent of humidity. This polymer blend approach is highly suitable for a precise
adjustment of conductivity values in the required
conductivity region for antistatic applications. The
overall balance of electrical and mechanical properties of ESD blends can further be achieved by an
appropriate choice of matrix polymers, blend compositions, rheological properties of the individual
polymers, and processing conditions (34,35).

10'8
1018

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

The change in certain properties due to the incorporation of rigid conductive fillers into polymeric
materials has an effect on their other properties.
Although carbon black is used as a reinforcement
agent for rubber compounds, the addition of carbon
black with the goal of achieving appropriate conductivity to a rigid polymer matrix (e.g., ABS, PVC)
usually causes an increase in stiffness. The tensile
modulus increases with an increase in the carbon
black concentration. The breaking strength and the
elongation at break decrease markedly with the degree of loading. The impact resistance is reduced
significantly with an increase in the amount of carbon black.
Carbon black also has a negative effect on the
processability of a compound. The melt viscosity
increases with an increasing level of carbon black.
The isoviscous temperature or flow temperature (Tf)
of Ketjen black loaded PVC melts as measured using
a constant pressure, non-isothermal rheometer, for
example, increases with black loading (see Fig. 5)
(36).Also, the decline of the ability to flow due to the
addition of carbon black extends over the entire
range of shear rates.
The addition of a high molecular weight polyether
copolymer, however, may increase the melt viscosity to a lesser degree than identical amounts of
carbon black. Figure 6, for example, shows the viscosity of PETG and its blend with 20%, by weight,
of a polyether copolymer (10). Please note that the
magnitude of the viscosity of this ESD blend is almost the same as that of the PETG polymer matrix.

4 Styrene Maleic Anhydride

-'.....

-- 0- Polystyrene
-I).. High Impact Polystyrene

I
1011

10

20

30

40

50

Weight % ESD Polymer

Fig. 4. Surface resistiuity of thermoplastic resins as a

function of the leuel of polyether copolymer.
40

I I

Temperature ("C)

Fig. 5. The constant pressure, non-isothermal rheometer

extrusion of a series of PVC composites with dijfeerent
loading of Ketjen black (amount = 1 gram; applied load:
1000 lb; rate of heating: 20"Clmin).

POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE, MID-JANUARY 1992, Vol. 32, NO. 1

Electrically Conductive Polymer Composites a n d Blends

1. The conductivity is inhibited in a polymer matrix
that shows a strong interaction with the polyether
copolymer.
2. The electrical properties of blends containing
polyether copolymer are favored in a polymer
matrix with a high permittivity.
3 . The optimum balance between conductivity and
mechanical strength can be achieved with the
addition of other ingredients, such a s rigid fillers.

t
105

CONCLUSIONS

----

I.
103

Blend

I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

100

I I I1 I l l

I I I I I I

102

101

103

w [radis]

Fig. 6. Dynamic viscosity of PETG, polyether copolymer

and their blend (blend ratio = 80/20)at 210C.
Table 4. Some Properties of Blends of ESD Polyether
CopolymerlPETG (10).
Composition
Polyether copolymer

PETG
Surface resistivity
(ohmkquare)
Static decay (SEC)*
@15% relative humidity
5000 volt to 500 volt
500 volt to 50 volt
Notched lzod impact
(ft-lbiin) @room temp.

100

20

30

100

80

> 1014

loio

ioq2

70
10

Insulator
Insulator
0.5

No test
No test

0.47

0.36

1.32 1.02
1.30 5.8

*FTMS l O l C Method 4046.

In most cases, depending on the polymer matrix,

the high molecular weight ESD polyether copolymer
even decreases the melt viscosity of blends for improved processability (9, 10).
For blends containing ESD polyether copolymer,
the extent of changes in physical/mechanical properties depends on the matrix material (9, 10). Table
4 shows some physical properties of blends of PETG
with ESD polyether copolymer (10).In addition to
the improvement of the electrical property of PETG,
the polyether had a minimal negative effect on the
viscosity and impact strength. The mutual effects
between the polyether copolymer and polymer matrix are very complex. Based on Ratners theoretical
treatment of polymer solid electrolytes (37) and
working knowledge of the rheology and morphology
of polymer blends, qualitative guidelines for using
polyether copolymer to optimize a polymeric compound for anti-static applications can be formed.
This experience is valid particularly for electrostatic
dissipative (ESD) polymer blend compositions because high concentrations of polyether copolymers
affect other mechanical properties (9,10, 34, 35).

The classical method to make polymers electrically conductive is to introduce a specific rigid conductive filler to the nonconductive polymer matrix.
However, it is difficult to achieve a clearly defined
conductivity using extrusion or injection molding
processes. The reason for that is the changes of
conductive paths due to variations in the concentrations of the fillers, changes in the morphology of the
fillers, and the hetero-distribution of the fillers. An
equation based on particle contact percolation and
Mooneys crowding factor on concentrated suspension rheology is described to explain these complicated phenomena.
Polymer blends using a high molecular weight
polyether copolymer appear to offer a viable alternative for making plastics and rubbers static dissipative. In addition to imparting electrical properties of
polymers for ESD applications, polyether copolymer
had a minimal negative effect on melt viscosity.
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42

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POLYMER ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE, MID-JANUARY 1992, Yo/. 32, NO. 1