Preparation and characterization of a novel antistatic poly(vinyl chloride)/quaternary ammonium based ion-conductive acrylate copolymer composites

Antistatic poly(vinyl chloride)/quaternary ammonium salt based ion-conductive acrylate copolymer (PVC/QASI) composites were successfully prepared in a Haake torque rheometer. The surface resistivity of the PVC/QASI composites could be reduced to 10⁷ Ω sq^?1 order of magnitude when the QASI content reached 20 phr (parts per hundreds of resin). The surface resistivity of the composites was slightly sensitive to the relative humidity (RH), showing a good antistatic ability under an RH of 12%. Mechanical properties tests, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were also used to investigate the tensile strength, elongation at break, thermal properties, and morphology of the PVC/QASI composites, respectively.