MORPHOLOGY AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF ELECTROSPUN EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE(EPS) /REDUCED GRAPHENE OXIDE COMPOSITE

References: 17th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2017, www.sgem.org, SGEM2017 Conference Proceedings, ISBN 978-619-7408-12-6 / ISSN 1314-2704, 29 June - 5 July, 2017, Vol. 17, Issue 61, 241-248 pp, DOI: 10.5593/sgem2017/61/S24.032

ABSTRACT

Conductive polymer composites due to their unique properties and potential in various applications including chemical and bio sensors are receiving much research attention in recent times. The study investigate the effect of increasing polymer concentration and the influence of mixing time on morphology and electrical conductivity were. A highly conducting nanofiller and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) was incorporated into the matrix of expanded polystyrene; a recycled polymer, and the solution was electrospun under the various processing parameters. A filler loading of between 0.01- 3% volume fraction was used at 15%w/v concentration of EPS. Analytical tools such as SEM-EDX, XRD, and FTIR were used to study the morphology of the synthesized RGO and electrospun nanofibers and four-point probe was used for electrical characterization. A significant enhancement of conductivity was observed when compared with EPS/ carbon black composite.

Keywords: Composite, nanofiller, filler loading, reduced graphene oxide, conductivity