The electrical conductivity and electromagnetic interference shielding of injection molded multi-walled carbon nanotube/polystyrene composites

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/polystyrene (PS) composites were injection molded into a mold equipped with three different cavities. A high alignment of MWCNTs in PS was achieved by applying high shear force to the melt. The effects of gate and runner designs and processing conditions, i.e., mold temperature, melt temperature, injection/holding pressure and injection velocity, on the volume resistivity of the composites were investigated in both the thickness and in-flow directions. The experiments showed that volume resistivity could be varied up to 7 orders of magnitude by changing the processing conditions in the injection molded samples. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the molded composites was studied by considering the alignment of the MWCNTs. The EMI SE decreased with an increase in the alignment of the injection-molded MWCNTs in the PS matrix. This study shows that mold designs and processing conditions significantly influence the electrical conductivity and shielding behavior of injection molded CNT-filled composites. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.