Effect of the colloidal graphite filler on the properties of electroconductive polyethylene compositions

The effect of colloidal graphite in a polyethylene (PE) matrix on electrical, mechanical, rheological and optical properties of electroconductive compositions has been investigated. PE compositions filled with different amounts of colloidal graphite were prepared, and the effects of fillers on their properties were studied. Electrical volume resistivity dramatically decrees with the increase in the volume content of the electroconductive filler in the PE matrix and can be described by exponential law. The decrease in tensile strength by ti 1.2 times and relative elongation by - 5.1 times have been observed. The melt flow index slightly increases with the increase of colloidal graphite concentration in the PE composition by ti 1.1 times due to the lubricating effect. Optical microscopic studies have proved that the colloidal graphite exerted not only a direct but also an indirect influence on the electrical volume resistivity and on the mechanical properties of the PE compositions. At lower colloidal graphite contents, the material became more flexible because of the better dispersion of graphite, but at higher colloidal graphite contents the stiffness significantly increased. Copyright (c) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 4th ISE Satellite Student Regional Symposium on Electrochemistry in Ukraine Promising Materials and Processes in Applied Electrochemistry-2019