Investigation of Thermal and Electrical Properties for Conductive Polymer Composites

This study addresses the effects of temperature ranging from 300 K to 400 K on thermal (κ) and electrical (σ) conductivities, and Lorenz number (L) for different conductive polymeric composites (CPCs), as tailoring the ratios between both conductivities of the composites can be influential in the design optimization of certain thermo-electronic devices. Both κ and σ were found to have either a linear or a nonlinear (2nd and 3rd degree polynomial function) increasing behavior with increased temperatures, depending on the conduction mechanism occurring in the composite systems studied. Temperature-dependent behavior of L tends to show decreasing trends above 300 K, where at 300 K the highest and the lowest values were found to be 3 × 103 W Ω/K2 for CPCs containing iron particles and 3 × 10−2 W Ω/K2 for CPCs-containing carbon fibers respectively. Overall, temperature-dependent behavior of κ/σ and L can be controlled by heterogeneous structures produced via mechanical-molding-compression. These structures are mainly responsible for energy-transfer processes or transport properties that take place by electrons and phonons in the CPCs’ bulks. Hence, the outcome is considered significant in the development process of high performing materials for the thermo-electronic industry.