Preparation and properties of conductive Ni coated carbon fibers/rubber films

Conductive rubber films filled with Ni coated carbon fibers (CF@Ni) were prepared by means of spraying process. The effects of Ni powder particle on the conductivity and flowability of conductive rubber were explored. The anti-folding properties of the conductive CF@Ni/rubber film and the adhesion strength between the film and aluminum alloy substrate were studied. The research results show that the resistivity of CF@Ni/conductive film dope with a small amount of spherical Ni powder is about 10^-1 Ω·cm; with the increase of Ni powder, the resistivity of film does not change significantly while the mobility increases significantly; there is no significant decrease in the conductivity of the films when they have experienced 100 fold cycles with pressure of 0.2 MPa. The adhesion strength between CF@Ni/rubber coating film and aluminum alloy substrate is about 0.22 MPa. The conductive CF@Ni/rubber films have good electrical conductivity and anti-folding properties. CF@Ni plays a leading role in the conduction process, while spherical Ni powder plays the role of ‘lubrication’, improving the efficiency of spraying.