Synergistic effects of carbon fillers on shielding effectiveness in conductive nylon 6,6-and polycarbonate-based resins

Electrically conductive resins can be made by adding electrically conductive fillers to typically insulating polymers. Resins with an electrical resistivity of approximately 10(6) Omega cm or less can be used for electromagnetic and radio frequency interference shielding applications. This research focused on performing compounding runs followed by injection molding and shielding effectiveness (SE) testing of carbon filled nylon 6,6- and polycarbonate-based resins. The three carbon fillers investigated included an electrically conductive carbon black, synthetic graphite particles, and a milled pitch-based carbon fiber. For each polymer, conductive resins were produced and tested that contained varying amounts of these single carbon fillers. In addition, combinations of fillers were investigated by conducting a full 2(3) factorial design and a complete replicate in each polymer. The objective of this study was to determine the effects and interactions of each filler on the SE properties of the conductive resins. Carbon black caused the largest increase in SE. Also, each single filler and each two filler interaction caused a statistically significant increase in SE. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.