Meeting application requirements with conductive carbon black

High structure or so-called conductive carbon blacks (CCBs) constitute the major family of conductive additives. They enable one to make polymers permanently conductive at “low” to “very low” loadings, for technical applications involving, e.g., the transport of energy, protection against arcing or discharge. Designing conductive parts requires certain know-how, as many parameters influence the final electrical conductivity, and many other requirements have to be fulfilled. This paper highlights the impact of the carbon black (CB) type and loading, the polymer type, and the compounding conditions on the conductive, mechanical, dispersion, and flow properties of various plastics compounds. The study especially positions a unique family of low surface area (LSA) CCBs, suggests means to make conductive parts with compounding and transformation ease, and points out that more conductive additive does not automatically give the best overall performance. J. VINYL. ADDIT. TECHNOL., 12:14–18, 2006. © 2006 Society of Plastics Engineers