Agglomeration of fractal carbon particles into electrically conductive networks in elastomer nanocomposites

长期以来，热解碳颗粒一直被用作弹性体复合材料的填充物，例如用于改善轮胎和垫圈的机械性能。这种复合材料的电学性能很少在技术上得到开发。今天，人们对将机械和电学性能结合在一起的弹性材料的需求越来越大，例如传感器和执行器。在这个项目中，我们将研究这种耦合如何依赖于碳颗粒在弹性体中形成的网络结构。我们着眼于结构性质关系，例如在微小的机械变形上获得强烈的电学响应。与由石墨烯薄片组成的高度清晰的碳纳米管不同，传统的碳填充颗粒是分形的。这种粒子形成的网络的输运特性几乎没有被研究过。在实验小组和理论小组的密切合作下，我们将进行模拟，准备复合材料，并对其进行表征。

Carbon particles from pyrolysis have long been used as fillers in elastomer composites, for example to improve the mechanical properties of tyres and gaskets. The electrical properties of such composites are rarely exploited technically. Today there is an increasing demand for elastic materials that couple mechanical and electrical properties as sensors and actuators. In this project, we will study how this coupling depends on the structure of the networks that carbon particles form in elastomers. We aim at structure property relations, for example to obtain strong electrical responses on small mechanical deformations. In contrast to highly defined carbon nanotubes of graphene flakes, conventional carbon filler particles are fractal. The transport properties of networks formed by such particles have hardly been studied. In close collaboration between an experimental and a theoretical group, we will perform simulations, prepare composites, and characterize them.