Stability of electrical properties of conducting polymer composites

The effect of slow cycle heating and cooling on the stability of electrical properties of two polymer composites‐ polypropylene/polypyrrole (PP/PPy) and polypropylene/carbon black (PP/CB) ‐ was investigated. Conductivity in composites was measured in heating/cooling cycles in the temperature range from 16°C to 105°C in PP/PPy and to 125°C in PP/CB, respectively. It was found that the thermal treatment caused the decrease of PP/PPy conductivity while in case of PP/CB the treatment increased the electrical conductivity. The positive effect was explained by increased crystallinity in the thermally treated composite.