Pinewood biochar antistatic polymer composites: an investigation of electrical, mechanical, rheological and thermal properties

This study investigates the practical applications of biochar as an innovative and sustainable conductive filler in composite materials. Utilizing the conventional melt-blending method, we prepared conductive pinewood biochar-filled poly(lactic acid)/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PLA/PBAT) composites and systematically examined their electrical, mechanical, rheological and thermal properties. Our results reveal a significant enhancement of electrical and mechanical properties upon the inclusion of conductive pinewood biochar in the PLA/PBAT matrix. With the addition of 10 wt% of conductive pinewood biochar, the average surface resistivity of the composites decreased by three orders of magnitude, measuring [Formula: see text], which meets the antistatic requirements for polymer composites. Additionally, the average tensile strength of the biochar filler composites improved by 53% with an addition of just 1 wt% of biochar.