The influence of foam morphology of multi-walled carbon nanotubes/poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites on electrical conductivity

Polymer/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PMMA/MWNTs) nanocomposites foams are widely investigated during the last decade thanks to their potential applications as electromagnetic interferences shielding (EMI) materials. Electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite is a key parameter for these applications. In the frame of this work, we aim at establishing relationships between the foams morphology and their electrical conductivity. We therefore first design nanocomposite foams of various morphologies using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as physical foaming agent. The nanocomposites based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and different carbon nanotubes loadings are prepared by melt-mixing and foamed by scCO2 in various conditions of pressure, temperature and soaking time. The influence of these foaming conditions on the morphology of the foams (volume expansion, pore size, cell density, cell-wall thickness) is discussed. After measuring the electrical conductivity of the foams, we establish structure/properties relationships that are essential for further optimizations of the materials for the targeted application.