Study of conductivity of dEPDM rubber and PAni blends

Blending is a promising approach, in the conducting polymer field, for taking advantage of the good mechanical properties and processability of conventional polymers and of the electroative properties of such conjugated polymers. The challenge of producing blends with conducting polymers has been studied by many researchers in the last years. Several approaches have been used to prepare these blends such as, eletrochemical deposition, in situ chemical polymerization, powder dispersion, melt blending and solution blending. Among the conducting polymers, blends with polyanilines have obtained the greatest technological importance due to the remarkable properties of such conductive polymer namely, easy of synthesis and doping, environmental stability, solubility and processability. in this work, blends of polyaniline (PAni) doped with cloclecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) and ethylenepropylene-diene-monomer rubber devulcanizated (dEPDM) by microwave were prepared by mechanical process. This EPDM used is a recycled material originating from car spare industry. Flexible, free-standing and stretchable films were obtained, which were characterized by electrical conductivity measurements. As expected, the blend conductivity gets higher with increasing contents of conducting polymer. The onset of the conductivity at low contents of conducting polymer indicates a low percolation threshold for the blends. The rubbery and conductive properties of these blends are great to produce devices like touch pad, weight and pressure measurer, etc.