Comparative study on electrical properties of copper nanowire/polypropylene and carbon nanotube/polypropylene composites

Nanocomposites using copper nanowires (CuNWs) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as fillers with polypropylene (PP) as matrix were prepared by miscible solution mixing and precipitation method. Comparative studies on electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding properties were reported. On the conductivity curve, a plateau was found for both CuNW/PP composite and CNT/PP composite. The plateaus are located at a different concentration range for each composite type: for CuNW/PP composite, it is between 0.8 and 1.7 vol %, while for CNT/PP composite the plateau occurs in a narrower range between 0.4 and 0.6 vol %. The shielding effectiveness (SE) increases with increased concentration of fillers. CNT/PP composite has higher SE at concentrations less than 2 vol %; the two curves cross near 10 dB at this point and at concentrations higher than 2 vol %, CuNW/PP composite has higher SE. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 296–303, 2015