Percolation and eddy currents in random close packed metal polymer composites

Bare and copper-coated polystyrene (PS) beads are mixed to give various volume fractions of electrically conducting and insulating spheres. This random mixture is subsequently sintered under pressure in a hot dye. The resulting solid is a polymer body in which thin (0.3 m) copper shells form a tightly packed cellular cluster which exhibits electrical continuity. This continuity is detected by inductive coupling via eddy currents to a coil at r.f. frequency. The percolation threshold for both two- and three-dimensional systems is observed by changing the thickness of the samples in a range in which it is comparable to the size of the beads. The observed thresholds for percolation are in good agreement with the theory.