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Understanding the effect of polymer crystallinity on the electrical conductivity of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet/polylactic acid composite films

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Abstract

Electrically conductive exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet (GNP) / polylactic acid (PLA) nanocomposite films were fabricated using a two-step, scalable melt compounding process. The effect of the polymer’s physical properties, such as crystallinity, on the mechanical and electrical properties of the composites were determined. The crystallization characteristics of PLA were altered significantly by altering the cooling rate during compression molding of the films. The crystallinity and crystal structure were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and polarized optical microscopy (POM). The mechanical and electrical properties were also examined as a function of PLA’s crystallinity dictated by the cooling rate during compression molding. The electrical conductivity was examined using impedance spectroscopy. For the same GNP content, the crystallinity increases by ~40 % and electrical conductivity increases by ~3 orders of magnitude with decreased cooling rate indicating a strong correlation between polymer physical properties and electrical conductivity of the polymer composites. This mechanism can be utilized to tailor the electrical conductivity of a given filler/polymer system by tuning the physical properties of the polymer, without altering the fillers’ characteristics or the processing method, which is the common approach used.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank and acknowledge financial support provided by Cytec Engineered Materials and the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 771 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0245, USA

    Erin M. Sullivan, Rosario A. Gerhardt, Ben Wang & Kyriaki Kalaitzidou

  2. George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 801 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0405, USA

    Yun Ju Oh & Kyriaki Kalaitzidou

  3. Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute, 813 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0560, USA

    Ben Wang

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  1. Erin M. Sullivan
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  2. Yun Ju Oh
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  3. Rosario A. Gerhardt
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  4. Ben Wang
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  5. Kyriaki Kalaitzidou
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Correspondence to Kyriaki Kalaitzidou.

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Sullivan, E.M., Oh, Y.J., Gerhardt, R.A. et al. Understanding the effect of polymer crystallinity on the electrical conductivity of exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet/polylactic acid composite films. J Polym Res 21, 563 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-014-0563-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-014-0563-8

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