Fluorinated and Engineering Thermoplastics with Carbon Nano Structures for Wire and Cable Claddings
The wire and cable industry has long understood the benefits of conductive claddings for anti-static, shielding and trace-cable applications. A new entry into the field is carbon nanostructures (CNS). CNS has significant efficiency advantages over carbon black pigments. CNS yields large conductivity gains at low loadings (under 2% by weight) in most melt-processable polymers. Additionally, CNS may offer improvements in tensile strength and flexural modulus values versus conductive carbon blacks.
In this paper we discuss the use of CNS with fluoropolymers and PEEK to produce experimental conductive claddings with enhanced durability and resistance to high service temperatures. The experimental materials were compounded on twin-screw extruders, then tested for electrical and physical properties to ensure efficacy.