Influence of Carbon Nanotube Spatial Distribution on Electromagnetic Properties of Nanotube–Polymer Composites (Phys. Status Solidi B 1/2018)

The analysis of numerous experimental and theoretical studies demonstrates that the electrophysical properties of composites, such as electrical conductivity, dielectric and magnetic permeability, are most sensitive to changes in the packing of particles in the composite, especially when the fillers exhibit both shape anisotropy and variation of other parameters. Multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) provide the possibility to produce tailor‐made composites with variable spatial distribution within a composite matrix. Moseenkov et al. (article no. 1700257) have studied composites with MWCNT concentrations close to the percolation threshold upon variation in (i) the morphology of the reinforcing material using MWCNTs with different aspect ratio and nanotube aggregate size (up to the average size of 300 mm) that were isolated from each other by thin polymer layers, and (ii) the type of the polymer matrix. In the region close to and above the percolation threshold, the electrophysical properties of the composites were found to be strongly affected by the spatial distribution of MWCNTs in the composite matrix. The effect of the size of conductive fillers (nanotubes) on the EMI reflectance of the composites was different for microwave and terahertz ranges.