Submicrometric glassy carbon as filler for HDPE-based conductive polymer composites for ESD and EMI applications

Glassy carbon (GC) is a unique form of carbon that possesses a wide range of useful properties, including high thermal stability, low thermal expansion, and excellent electrical conductivity.This makes it a promising candidate for reinforcement in thermoplastic composites.In this work, micrometric GC powder (GC) and submicrometric GC powder (sGC) were used to make a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) base composite.The GC reinforcement was introduced to the polymer matrix by two different methods to form random and segregated reinforcement distribution.The influence of the GC volume content () and composite structure on electrical conductivity was examined.It was demonstrated that while glassy carbon can enhance the conductivity of HDPE more effectively than graphite, it falls short of matching the exceptional performance of carbon nanotubes, which bridge the gap between them.The research showed that the addition of GC increases the conductivity of HDPE, and achievement of the percolation threshold (c) is possible at 4 %.The segregated distribution of GC leads to lower values of the percolation threshold (c 1 %) than the random distribution.