Carbon Black Selective Dispersion and Electrical Properties of Epoxy Resin/Polystyrene/Carbon Black Ternary Composites

Abstract

Carbon black (CB) selective dispersion and conductive properties of immiscible thermoplastic/thermosetting polymer blends consisting of polystyrene (PS) and epoxy resin (EP) were investigated in this paper. The results showed that CB particles are preferentially localized in EP phase in PS/EP blends. The blend with 10 pbw (parts by weight) PS presented an EP continuous phase structure, and both blends with 20 pbw and 30 pbw developed into a bi-continuous phase structure. The selective dispersion of CB particles was explained by thermodynamic parameters. The phase structures of blends have important influences on both conductive and dielectric properties. The blends with 10 pbw PS has a very low percolation threshold nearly 0.25wt%.