Electrical Conduction and Percolation Behavior of Carbon Nanotubes/UPR Nanocomposites

The carbon nanotubes (CNT)/unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) nanocomposites are fabricated, and their electrical conduction and percolation behavior are investigated experimentally and theoretically. The carbon nanotubes used in this study are those by the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method; vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) has an average diameter of 150 nm and vapor grown nanofiber (VGNF) has about 80 nm in diameter. The electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites is measured as a function of carbon nanotube volume fraction to understand the percolation behavior. The nanocomposites show the electrical conductivity with low percolation threshold between 2 and 3 vol%. Moreover, the percolation threshold is examined as a function of fiber aspect rate based on simulation calculations. The critical CNT volumes fraction is in good agreement between the theoretical prediction and the experiment results.