Significances of interphase conductivity and tunneling resistance on the conductivity of carbon nanotubes nanocomposites

This article expresses a simple model for prediction of conductivity in polymer carbon nanotubes (CNT) nanocomposites (PCNT). This model suggests the roles of CNT concentration, CNT dimensions, CNT conductivity, the percentage of networked CNT, interphase thickness and tunneling properties in the conductivity of PCNT. The suggested model is applied to predict the conductivity in several samples. In addition, the significances of all parameters attributed to CNT, interphase and tunneling regions on the predicted conductivity are justified to confirm the suggested model. The calculations of conductivity properly agree with the experimental results demonstrating the capability of suggested model for prediction of conductivity. Thick interphase increases the conductivity of nanocomposites, because it enlarges the conductive networks. In addition, high tunneling resistivity due to polymer layer, large tunneling distance between adjacent CNT and small tunneling diameter deteriorate the conductivity, because they enhance the tunneling resistance limiting the charge transferring via tunneling regions. The suggested model can replace the available models to predict the conductivity in future researches.