Electrical Conductivity of Lignocellulose Composites Loaded with Electrodeposited Copper Powders

Abstract

Composites based on polymers with conductive fillers have been gaining more and more significant roles in a variety of technological domains and are in the research focus of numerous studies as a part of growing research trend. Natural polymers based on renewable materials with addition of chosen materials can be directly used as contemporary materials by electrochemical methods. This article is concerned with the preparation characterization of the basic components: electrodeposited copper powder and lignocellulose as well as composite materials prepared by the compression molding of lignocellulose and galvanostatically obtained copper powder mixtures. Analysis of the most significant properties of individual components and prepared composites included quantitative structural analysis, morphological analysis, determination of density and porosity and measurements of electrical conductivity. Different investigation techniques including SEM, TGA, DSC, X-ray, FTIR, particle size distribution and conductivity measurements were used. The electrical conductivity of the composites is LT 10(-15) MS/m, unless the metal content reaches the percolation threshold of 14.4% (v/v), beyond which the conductivity increases markedly by as much as 14 orders of magnitude. It was found that this transition occurs at lower volume fractions than stated in the literature which can be due to the filler with high specific area.