Fabrication of alumina based electrically conductive polymer composites

Novel electrically conductive composites were synthesized by incorporating Cu coated alumina (Cu-Al2O3) powder prepared via electroless plating technique as filler (0-21wt %) into polystyrene-b-methylmethacrylate (PS-b-PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) matrices. XRD analysis depicted maximum Cu crystallite growth (26.116 nm approximate to plating time 30 min) onto Al2O3 along with a significant change in XRD patterns of composites with Cu-Al2O3 inclusion. SEM-EDX analyses exhibited uniform Cu growth onto Al2O3 and confirmed presence of Cu, Al, Pd in Cu-Al2O3, and C, O, Al, Cu, and Pd in PS-b-PMMA and PS composites. Increasing filler loadings exhibited increased electrical conductivity (5.55 x 10(-5)S/cm for PS-b-PMMA; 5.0 x 10(-6)S/cm for PS) with increased Young's modulus (1122MPa for PS-b-PMMA; 1053.9MPa for PS) and tensile strength (27.998MPa for PS-b-PMMA; 30.585MPa for PS) and decreased % elongation. TGA demonstrated increased thermal stability and DTG revealed two-step degradation in composites while DSC depicted pronounced increment in T-g of Cu-Al2O3/PS-b-PMMA with increased filler loading. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 42939.