This review focuses on research that seeks to improve electrical conductivity of polymers by using low melting point alloy (LMPA), metal alloys whose melting temperatures are lower than the processing temperature of the polymer.
This article is a comprehensive review of the literature on using LMPA blended into polymers to realize high conductivity.
This is especially important for LMPA-filled composites due to the high cost of LMPA as compared to fillers such as carbon black.
The equipment and processing operations used to blend LMPA with thermoplastics is usually similar to that used for melt-blending immiscible thermoplastics.
LMPA are generally available in the form of ingots, particles, or wires.
[47] fabricated polyethylene composites using a similar die drawing process and concluded that addition of clay particles help reduce the size of LMPA dispersed phase.
In this case, all the components of the thermoset were blended with the LMPA at a temperature above the melting point of the LMPA.
LMPA and PS powder for several hours in a ball mill at room temperature, followed by hot-pressing the mixture in a metal die at various temperatures.
