Fabrication and characterization of nylon 6/foliated graphite electrically conducting nanocomposite

In this study, the nylon 6/foliated graphite (FG) electrically conducting nanocomposites with a low percolation threshold of less than 0.75 vol % have been prepared via an in situ polymerization approach in the presence of FG nanosheet filler. Based on laser counting, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction characterization techniques, the structures and morphologies of the nanoscale filling particles and the resulting nanocomposites were examined. Using percolation theory, the conductivity behavior of the nanocomposite samples were modeled and analyzed. Through the use of mean-field and excluded volume approaches, it was demonstrated that the experimentally observed percolation threshold values could be approximately estimated, and a correlation between the percolation threshold and the aspect ratio of FG particles could be quasi-quantitatively established. Also, preliminary studies on the effects of FG nanosheets on the thermal properties of the host nylon 6 were performed. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.