Synergistic effect in conductive networks constructed with carbon nanofillers in different dimensions

Herein, investigation on synergistic effect during network formation for conductive network constructed with carbon nanofillers in different dimensions is conducted. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and carbon black (CB) are employed as conductive fillers in this system. Morphological control of the conductive network is realized by adjusting the ratio between different fillers. Classical percolation threshold theory and adjusted excluded volume theory are used to analyze the electrical percolating behavior of these systems. It is observed that the percolation threshold of hybrid fillers filled conductive polymer composites (CPCs) is much lower than that of MWNTs or CB filled CPCs, and it can be reduced from 2.4 to 0.21 wt% by replacing half of the MWNTs with CB. Possible mechanism of this phenomenon is discussed together with morphological observation. A model is proposed to understand the mechanism of the percolation behavior in the composites containing various proportions of nanofillers. Our work is important for the design and preparation of low cost conductive polymer composites with novel electrical property.