Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticle-decorated coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads and their application in antistatic polypropylene composites

A conductive powder of coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads (CMs) coated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles was synthesized by a simplified electroless plating method. CMs were coated with uniform and dense Ag nanoparticles (Ag@CMs) to form a conductive structure consisting of internal conductive channels and a surface coating layer. The powder volume resistivity of Ag@CMs reached 1.47 omega.cm. Subsequently, Ag@CMs were mixed with polypropylene (PP) to prepare an Ag@CMs@PP composite with a volume resistivity of 3.35 x 10(5) omega.cm, a tensile strength of 26.06 MPa, and an elongation at break of 43.09%. Due to the high specific surface area (65.41 m(2)/g), small particle size (8.13 mu m), and low density (1.51 g/cm3) of Ag@CMs, the Ag@CMs@PP composite had better volume resistivity and mechanical properties than the PP composite filling with com-mercial silver-plated glass beads. The findings of this research could provide a theoretical foundation for future applications of Ag@CMs.

Automated summary

A conductive powder of coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads coated with silver nanoparticles was synthesized using simplified electroless plating method. The resulting Ag@CMs@PP composite showed improved volume resistivity and mechanical properties compared to traditional PP composite filled with commercial silver-plated glass beads. This research provides a theoretical foundation for future applications of Ag@CMs.