Mechanical, Electrical, and Glass Transition Behavior of Copper–PMMA Composites

Abstract

The mechanical, electrical, and glass transition behaviors (Tg) of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)–metal systems have been studied. Considering both the particle size and the metal filler concentration, the electrical conductivity showed a clear dependence on the sample thickness to reach percolation. An increase of up to 400% of strain-to-failure for the 2% v/v of nanometric filler composites in the mechanical test was observed. Tg analysis showed a decrease in the glass transition temperature when the increase of nanometric metallic filler reached the limit of 2% v/v. Over this concentration, the Tg values showed a tendency to reach the original value of the polymeric matrix without conductive filler. For the 20% v/v micrometric filler composites, the strain-to-failure increased up to 58%, but in the Tg analysis of this composite, no relevant changes were observed when the micrometric metallic filler was increased.