Property balancing for polyethylene-based carbon black-filled conductive composites

Carbon black (CB) filled polyethylene (PE) and/or ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) composites were prepared by conventional blending. Their electrical properties, including resistance-temperature relation, resistivity-CB content relation, and positive or negative temperature coefficient (PTC, NTC) intensity; mechanical properties such as break strength and the elongation at break; and processing conditions involving mixing torque and equilibrium temperature were studied to balance them from the fabrication and application points of view. A balanced property profile was achieved by mixing EVA with the primary CB-PE system to form a trinary blend. To enhance the thermal stability, the prepared samples were then filled with ZnO and talc and subsequently undertook either chemical or radiation crosslinking This treatment mostly eliminated the NTC effect, the PTC transition was significantly intensified, and the room temperature resistance was slightly increased.