Preparation of Short Carbon Fiber/Polydimethylsiloxane Conductive Composites Based on Continuous Spatial-Confining Network Assembly Technique

With the development of electronic devices, conductive composites are receiving more and more attention, the demand for electrically conductive composites (ECC) is also increasing. However, the existing preparation process does not allow for the continuous preparation of electrically conductive composites. Therefore, we report a continuous spatial-confining network assembly (CSNA) technique method to achieve an efficient and controllable preparation of electrically conductive composites. Short carbon fiber (SCF) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are used as conductive fillers and polymer matrix to prepare conductive composites, and the filler content of the prepared composites is 6 wt%. The electrical conductivity of the PDMS/SCF conductive composite is 73.72 S m-1, when flexible roll with a Shore hardness of 12.5 A and a roll pressure of 126 N is used. The effect of increasing pressure, the higher the number of rolls and the roll speed on the electrical properties of the composite, is also investigated. To sum up, the PDMS/SCF composite prepared by this preparation method is expected to achieve continuous production and application in medical, biological, thermal management, etc. This experiment reports on a continuous spatial-confining network assembly (CSNA) technique for the preparation of electrically conductive composites (ECCs). Using flexible rolls with a Shore hardness of 12.5 A and a pressing force of 126 N, the electrical conductivity of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/short carbon fiber (SCF) ECC reaches 73.724 S m-1 at a filler content of 6 wt%.image (c) 2023 WILEY-VCH GmbH