Investigation Of Microstructure And Conductive Mechanism Of High Density Polyethylene/Carbon Black Particle Composite By Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

The microstructure and conductive mechanism of high density polyethylene/carbon black (HDPE/CB) composite were investigated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The PALS were measured in two series of samples, one with various CB contents in the composites and the other with various gamma-irradiation doses in HDPE/CB composite containing 20 wt% CB. It was found that CB particles distribute in the amorphous regions, the CB critical content value in HDPE/CB composite is about 16.7 wt% and the suitable gamma-irradiation dose for improving the conductive behavior of HDPE/CB composite is about 20 Mrad. The result observed for the second set of samples suggests that gamma-irradiation causes not only cross-linking in amorphous regions but also destruction of the partial crystalline structure. Therefore, a suitable irradiation dose, about 20 Mrad, can induce sufficient cross-linking in the amorphous regions without enhancing the decomposition of crystalline structure, so that the positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect remains while the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) effect is suppressed. A new interpretation of the conductive mechanism, which might provide a more detailed explanation of the PTC effect and the NTC effect has been proposed.