Macro- and microdispersion of carbon black in liquid silicone rubbers

A correlation between the online during mixing measured conductance of carbon black (CB) filled silicone rubber and macrodispersion of CB determined by optical microscopy and microdispersion analysed by AFM has been established. The online conductance is a suitable tool to characterise the effect of technological parameters (e.g. rotor type, speed, mixing temperature) and material parameters (matrix viscosity, CB type and content) on the macro- and microdispersion directly during the mixing process. Thus, a modified method of the online conductance measurement can be used as the in-process method for monitoring the production process of electrical conductive polymer materials with low viscosity, e.g. liquid silicone rubbers.