Soft and flexible conductive PDMS/MWCNT composites

Conductive elastomers based on MWCNT in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) have been prepared by a range of dispersion methods such as ultrasonication, speedmixing and roll milling in combination with physical or covalent modification. The ionic liquid (IL), 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, was used to pre‐disperse MWCNT in a MWCNT/IL‐gel that was used for preparation of MWCVNT/PDMS composites. The method was seen to be effective at low levels of MWCNT, but required combination with a roll mill to obtain a stable dispersion at 4 wt % MWCNT. With higher amounts of MWCNT a reduction in conductivity was observed, which was attributed to a change in morphology occurring between 4 and 5 wt % MWCNT. As an alternative to IL dispersing aids a novel functionalized MWCNT was prepared by free radical polymerization using α‐methacryloxypropyl‐polydimethylsiloxane, which could be used directly for preparation of MWCNT/PDMS composites. Composites prepared by use of the IL dispersion method, use of a roll mill or by use of the f‐MWCNT all had conductivities around 0.005–0.01 s/cm and retained conductivity upon extension. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44767.