Selective location and conductive network formation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in polycarbonate/poly(vinylidene fluoride) blends

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-filled polycarbonate (PC), poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and PC/PVDF conductive composites were fabricated using melt mixing, respectively. The dynamic process of MWCNTs conductive network formation in the composites was in situ traced by recording the variation of electrical resistivity with time during annealing treatments. As a result, the percolation threshold for the MWCNTs-filled PC/PVDF system was much lower than those of MWCNTs-filled individual polymers and the MWCNTs were selectively located in the PC phase of PC/PVDF composite, which had been verified by scanning electron microscopy measurements. The activation energy of conductive network formation for PC/PVDF/MWCNTs composite was close to that of the PC/MWCNTs system, which further confirmed that MWCNTs were dispersed mainly in the PC phase. Furthermore, the assembly velocity of MWCNTs in the polymer melt increased with annealing temperature. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.