Effect of Carbon Black and/or Elastomer on Thermoplastic Elastomer-based Blends and Composites

It was aimed to investigate the effect of carbon black and/or elastomer on the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). Carbon black (CB) and ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate (E-GMA) were used as additives in the main matrix. The blends and composites were characterized in terms of their electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. CB concentration was varied as 0.5, 1, 3 and 5 wt.%. In order to modify the surface of CB, paraffinic oil and silane coupling agents were used. E-GMA was added to the matrix at 5, 10, 20, and 30 wt.% concentration. In order to prepare ternary composites, 5 wt.% of modified or unmodified carbon black and 10 wt.% of E-GMA were mixed with the TPE matrix. The tensile strength, impact strength and elongation at break values of TPE/CB composites decreased while elastic moduli and electrical conductivities increased with increasing CB concentration. It was observed that the surface modification of CB did not alter the tensile properties significantly. However, impact strength of the composites improved upon modification. For TPE/E-GMA blends, E-GMA addition enhanced the tensile strength and impact strength values of neat TPE. Nevertheless, elongation at break values began to decrease at 10 wt% and higher concentrations of E-GMA. It was observed that CB was more effective than the E-GMA on the mechanical properties of the ternary composites. The addition of 10 wt.% E-GMA increased the electrical resistivity and impact strength values of the ternary composites, as expected.