Formulation and Processing of Conductive Polysulfide Sealants for Automotive and Aerospace Applications

Polysulfide rubbers are versatile elastomers that are widely used in electronic and automotive industries. Specifically, polysulfides are used as sealants for aircraft fuel tanks liners due to their superior properties. To dissipate electrostatic charges that are generated from the motion of highly flammable fuels, polysulfide sealants need to be made electrically conductive. In this report, a series of conductive polysulfide sealants were made through roll milling processes. The effect of fillers on conductivity was systematically investigated by varied sizes, shapes, and surface coatings. Filler-polymer interfaces were studied and modified to present better electrical properties. Conductive polysulfide can achieve a high conductivity over 10(5) S/m using high aspect ratio silver nanowires at low filler loading with specific treatment.