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a) b - École Polytechnique de Montréal

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concentration threshold for the onset of electrical conductivity was significantly<br />

<strong>de</strong>creased(Anand, et al., 1998).<br />

In the case of conductive fillers, both the size and shape of the particles influence the percolation<br />

threshold. Typically the percolation threshold ranges from 10-40% volume fraction of the<br />

conductive filler (Jagur-Grodzinski, 2002). It has also been theoretically and experimentally<br />

observed that for polymer blends including a dispersed metal(Bridge & Tee, 1990) or carbon<br />

black(Carmona, 1989) phase, that the percolation threshold <strong>de</strong>pends on the aspect ratio of the<br />

filler and it <strong>de</strong>creases when the ratio of the length to the diameter increases(Munson-McGee,<br />

1991). Gubbels et al. reported a percolation threshold as low as 3 weight percent carbon black<br />

when it is localized in one phase of a binary blend consisting of 45% polyethylene and 55%<br />

polystyrene(Gubbels, et al., 1995; Gubbels, et al., 1994). Then, they showed that localization of<br />

carbon black at the interface of a co-continuous PE/PS blend exhibits a sharp reduction in the<br />

percolation threshold value to 0.5 wt%. Blends consisting of conductive material prepared<br />

slightly above the percolation threshold have low conductivity. The most difficult part is<br />

preparing the conductive blend near the percolation threshold with reproducible conductive<br />

results. Sumita et al.(Sumita, Sakata, Asai, Miyasaka, & Nakagawa, 1991) employed the<br />

methodology of spreading coefficient to <strong>de</strong>velop a criterion to <strong>de</strong>termine the conditions of<br />

localization of carbon black at the interface.<br />

After the discovery of doped polyacetylene and its metal-like behavior, research shifted from<br />

carbon black to intrinsically conductive polymer blends (ICP). By replacing the inorganic<br />

semiconductors in conventional <strong>de</strong>vice structures with a semiconducting polymer, the basic<br />

application of these materials has already been <strong>de</strong>monstrated(Burroughes, Jones, & Friend,<br />

1988). They can store information and energy, and are capable of performing intelligent<br />

functions. The most amenable conductive polymer to solution processing and meltprocessing(Paul,<br />

Vijayanathan, & Pillai, 1999) is polyaniline(PANI). Investigations by<br />

Macdiarmid et al.(Macdiarmid, et al., 1985), which resulted in the discovery of electrical<br />

conductivity for the emeraldine salt of polyaniline, led to an explosion of interest in this<br />

fascinating polymer. The emeraldine base of PANI is soluble in a few strong acids(Andreatta,<br />

Cao, Chiang, Heeger, & Smith, 1988). Various dopants were utilized to induce meltprocessability<br />

in PANI. The main disadvantage of all intrinsically conductive polymers including<br />

PANI is its limited melt-processability. The addition of zinc compound to doped-PANI complex<br />

99

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