Development of Polypyrrole-ZnO Nanocomposites/LDPE Blend on Low Percolation Threshold as an Electrostatic Charge Dissipative Material

Abstract

Conductive polymers i.e. polypyrrole and polyaniline, have poor mechanical properties, such as poor compressive, flexural and low tensile strength and that render conducting polymers non-ideal material to be processed for practical applications. Desired properties of conducting polymers can be enhanced by mixing it with a polymer that has good mechanical properties. Therefore, the present work is based on the development of polypyrrole (PPY)-ZnO nanocomposites based low density polyethylene (LDPE) blend for antistatic application. The nanocomposite based on PPY-ZnO NPs were synthesised by situ emulsion polymerization. Blending of PPY-ZnO NPs with LDPE was carried out in twin screw extruder by melt blending method by loading 1.0-2.0 wt. % of the PPY-ZnO NPs in LDPE matrix. Conductive blend composed of PPY-ZnO and LDPE was characterized by using TGA, FTIR, XRD, conductivity measurement and morphological characterization (SEM and TEM analysis) to investigate interaction of PPY-ZnO NPs in LDPE matrix. Concentrations as low as 2.0 wt. (%) of PPY-ZnO was able to lead to electrical conductivities of PPY-ZnO /LDPE blends in the range of 10–5 S/cm, showing its potential use as antistatic container for encapsulation of electronic equipments. The static decay time of the blends was found to be of the order of 0.3 to 1.5 sec. on recording the decay time from 5000V to 500V.