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. 2018 Feb 1;3(2):1367-1373.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.7b01848. eCollection 2018 Feb 28.

Highly Conducting, Sustainable, Nanographitic Rubber Composites

Katerina Kampioti  1   2 , Carolina F Matos  3 , Fernando Galembeck  4 , Christèle Jaillet  1   2 , Alain Derré  1   2 , Aldo J G Zarbin  3 , Alain Pénicaud  1   2
Affiliations

Highly Conducting, Sustainable, Nanographitic Rubber Composites

Katerina Kampioti et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

Environmentally friendly multifunctional rubber composites are reported. Graphitic nanocarbon (NC) deriving from cracking of biogas (methane/carbon dioxide) and natural rubber extracted directly from the Hevea brasiliensis tree are the two components of these composites produced via latex technology. While maintaining and enhancing the intrinsic thermal and mechanical characteristics of rubber, the presence of NC shows a significant improvement on the electrical response. For a 10 wt % NC content, a 1010-fold increase in conductivity has been achieved with a conductivity value of 7.5 S·m-1, placing these composites among the best obtained using other carbon fillers. In addition, the piezoresistive behavior has also been verified. These promising green composites have a potential use in a variety of applications such as sealing of electronic devices and sensors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Raman spectra of pure NR, a representative composite (7.5 wt % NC/NR), dried NC dispersion, and initial purified NC powder.
Figure 2
Figure 2
XRD spectra of pure NR, composites, dried NC dispersion, and initial purified NC powder.
Figure 3
Figure 3
TEM images of NR, 5 wt % NC/NR, and 10 wt % NC/NR. Inset: TEM image of 10 wt % NC/NR in higher magnification.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Peak force AFM images of 10 wt % NC/NR composite. In all three images, the NC and polymer component are marked with white and blue circles, respectively. (a) Topography, (b) Young’s modulus, and (c) adhesion.
Figure 5
Figure 5
TGA thermograms of neat NR and the NC/NR composites.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Top: ac conductivity as a function of frequency for the neat NR and NC/NR composites. Bottom: ac conductivity as a function of filler concentration at a frequency of 10 Hz.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Comparison of our observed conductivity with values from the literature. CB: carbon black, NR: natural rubber, SBR: styrene–butadiene rubber, CNTs: carbon nanotubes, RGO: reduced graphene oxide, GnPs: graphene platelets, FGS: functionalized graphene sheets.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Representative stress–strain curves of NC and NC/NR composites. Inset: Young’s modulus as a function of NC concentration.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Ratio of the change in resistance and the initial resistance and gauge factor as a function of strain for 10 wt % NC/NR composite. Inset: schematic representation of piezoresistive measurement. The initial maximum of the gauge factor is reproducible. It may be linked to an initial reorganization of the NC network as has been observed in the case of CNT/poly(vinyl alcohol) fibers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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