Electrical properties of EVA/LLDPE blends with selectively located graphene nanoplatelets

Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and linear lowdensity polyethylene (LLDPE) were melt-mixed to form a cocontinuous blend and selectively locate commercial graphene nanoplatelets (GN) produced in large-scale by mechanochemical exfoliation of graphite. To make the EVA/LLDPE/GN composites, two processing orders were used during extrusion, either premixing GN with EVA or LLPDE, to restrict or enable GN migration during processing, respectively. The electrical properties of the blends were characterized by Dielectric Spectroscopy and compared with the properties of single-polymer composites. Morphological analysis of the composites revealed a co-continuous structure with the presence of interfacial GN when the composites were prepared from the LLDPE masterbatch. The blending approach reduced the electrical percolation threshold drastically, and the resulting composites presented conductivity values interesting for applications such as semi-conductive screen material for power cables.