Preparation and performance of Cu/ABS conductive functionally gradient materials

In order to prepare conductive functionally gradient material (CFGM), a series of Cu/acrylouitrile butadiene styrene copolymer （ABS） composites with different Cu content were prefabricated by use of HAAKE torque rheometer. The Cu/ABS conductive functionally gradient materials were prepared successfully by laminate molding through changing the content of the Cu filler of each layer. The structure and performane of the materials were investigated. The experimental results indicate that the performance of the materials changes gradually along the thickness direction based on the content of Cu, which shows great difference from the homogeneous composites. Conductivity test shows that the percolation phenomenon takes place in the CFGM and the corresponding volume resistivity changes from 1016Ω·cm of one side to 105Ω·cm of another side. Bending tests indicate that the ABS rich side shows better bending strength, which is 6% lower than neat ABS only; and that the filler rich side show good bending modulus, which is 20% higher than neat ABS. The experimental facts demonstrate that CFGM can effectively match the mechanical performance with conductive performance of the conductive composites.