Yasamin Kazemi: Morphological Control of Conductive Networks in Electrically-Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites

Over the last few decades, conductive polymer composites (CPCs) have shown great potential as a highly desirable class of advanced functional materials. The presence of a network of conductive particles gives CPCs their electrical conductivity, while the polymeric matrix makes them easy to process and shape. To achieve the desired properties in CPCs, controlling the morphology of conductive networks within the polymeric matrices is of great importance. Therefore, it is essential to understand the processing-structure-property relationships to be able to control the properties of CPCs for various applications. This seminar will introduce a number of novel processing techniques for the enhancement of the electrical, electromagnetic, and mechanical properties of various conductive polymer nanocomposite systems. These techniques include (i) polymer foaming in the presence of supercritical carbon dioxide, (ii) controlling the crystalline structure of thermoplastic matrices, and (iii) polymer blending. Using these techniques, the 3-dimensional networks of conductive nanoparticles can be controlled, enabling the improvement of the dispersion and distribution of the nanoparticles. Particularly, the effects of processing conditions and polymer/nanoparticle interfacial interactions will be discussed.