Self-Regulating Electrically Conductive Materials Based on Polyethylene Compositions with UHMWPE and Carbon Black

Electrically conductive composites based on high density polyethylene (HDPE) / ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) blends filled with carbon black were studied. The work is a part of the research of electrically conductive materials for the manufacture of self-regulating polymer heaters. In this work, the authors investigated composites based on HDPE/UHMWPE (molecular mass of ~ 7 million) blends filled with carbon black (average particle size ~ 20 nm). The goal of the work was to obtain a self-regulating electrically conductive polymer material with optimal thermoelectric characteristics and high heat resistance. It was shown that the effect of adding UHMWPE to the HDPE/carbon black composites on the thermoelectric behavior of the resulting material was similar to cross-linking. This reduced the undesirable effect of the negative thermal coefficient (NTC) of the electrical resistance. In addition, the heat resistance of the material at elevated temperatures was increased. This makes it possible to exclude the radiation or chemical cross-linking in the manufacture of self-regulating polymer heating elements. The rheological, mechanical and thermoelectric properties of HDPE/carbon black composites modified with UHMWPE were also studied. It was found that a diffusion interphase layer with a reduced fluidity in the melt of HDPE/UHMWPE blends was formed. It was established that self-regulating composites containing 30–40% of UHMWPE had the best operational properties. We can recommend the methods of extrusion and injection molding for the processing of HDPE/carbon black composites mixed with 30% UHMWPE, and the pressing method in case of UHMWPE content of 40%. The ability of the composites to be molded is sharply reduced at higher contents of UHMWPE.

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