Fabrication, Antistatic Ability, Thermal Properties, and Morphology of a SPE-Based Antistatic HIPS Composite

Permanently antistatic composites composed of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and LiClO4 doped thermoplastic polyurethane/poly(ethylene oxide) (TPU/PEO) solid-polymer-electrolyte (SPE) were successfully prepared in a Haake torque rheometer. The HIPS/SPE composites with different ionic conductivities could be fabricated by a normal thermoplastic processing method instead of the conventional solvent-based casting technique used in SPE. Studies of the rheological and conductive properties of the composites indicated that the fusion time of the composites increased with the PEO content. The surface resistivity of the composites was below 10(10) ohm sq(-1) orders of magnitude, and able to satisfy the requirement of the antistatic packaging field when the PEO content reached 4 phr. The addition of PEO to the composites was helpful for enhancing the conductivity of the HIPS/SPE composites. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile tests, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to investigate the thermal, mechanical properties, and morphology of the composites, respectively. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 50:739-746, 2010. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers