Ethylene-(vinyl acetate) copolymer/carbon fiber conductive composite: effect of polymer-filler interaction on its electrical properties

Ethylene-(vinyl acetate) (EVA)/carbon fibre (CF) composites were prepared by changing the content of CF in the composite. To investigate the effect of the interaction between EVA and CF on the electrical properties of the composite, the CF was treated in nitric acid. The interaction between EVA and CF was examined by a solvent-extraction method. It was found that the interaction of EVA with CF was enhanced due to the chemical absorption of EVA on CF. The correlation of CF content, electrical properties and the formation of polymer-filler gel for the composite with oxidized CF was studied. Although the composites filled with treated CF exhibit a slightly higher resistivity than those filled with untreated CF at room temperature, they show the improved electrical properties, including elimination of the negative-temperature-coefficient (NTC) effect, high electrical reproducibility after thermal cycles, and independence of the conductivity on time, which improves the practical applications of positive-temperature-coefficient (PTC) materials. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.