Impact of foaming on the broadband dielectric properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube/polystyrene composites

This study investigated the impact of foaming on the broadband dielectric properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube/polystyrene (MWCNT/PS) nanocomposites. Different carbon nanotube concentrations were prepared by blending of a 20wt.% MWCNT/PS masterbatch and pure PS using a twin-screw extruder. A chemical blowing agent was used to foam the nanocomposites in a micro injection molding machine. Compression molding was applied to fabricate unfoamed nanocomposites for comparison purposes. Comparing the dielectric properties of unfoamed and foamed nanocomposites showed that foaming increased the percolation threshold, reduced DC and AC conductivities, widened the insulator-conductor transition window, and reduced the dissipation factor of the MWCNT/PS composites. These were attributed to deteriorated conductive network and inferior dispersion and distribution of MWCNTs coming from the presence of foam cells in the nanocomposites. The obtained results propose foaming as a promising technique to improve the dielectric properties of MWCNT/polymer composites.