New nanocomposite materials made of an insulating matrix and conducting fillers: Processing and properties

Abstract The work described in this paper deals with the preparation and the characterization of an homogeneous composite material composed of electrically conductive fillers dispersed in a thermoplastic insulating matrix. These fillers were chosen to have either a spherical shape or a high aspect ratio. Processing of these conductive polypyrrole particles, which were obtained either through a classical polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of stabilizer, or polymerization onto the surface of cellulose monocrystals is detailed. The relationship of filler content in the composite to electrical and mechanical properties was investigated. In order to characterize the connectivity of the fillers in the matrix, electrical measurements were performed and these results have been compared with the predictions of the statistical percolation theory. Further analysis was undertaken by considering the influence of the network of rigid particles on the viscoelastic properties of the composites. These results were compared with two models; first, with a mechanical percolation approach which was based on strong interactions between fillers, and second, with a mean field model, which in no way accounted for interactions bewteen fillers. In recent developments, it has been shown that these materials used as coating on various substrate could be good sensors, allowing to determine some specific features of the substrate deformation.