Tuning thermal and structural properties of nano‐filled PDMS elastomer

Increasing the thermal stability and thermal conductivity of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a crucial issue for thermal applications. This paper focuses on enhancing PDMS's thermal and structural properties by incorporating nanocomposite into the PDMS matrix. An investigation of the impact of rGO‐CaCO3 nanocomposite on the thermal and structural properties of PDMS was performed using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), the thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis (TGA‐DTA), and thermal analyzer tests. It was observed that PDMS doped with rGO‐CaCO3 nanocomposite shows better thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and higher crystallinity. The thermal stability was enhanced significantly by adding a 5% rGO‐CaCO3 nanocomposite, and the initial and end degradation temperatures rose to 492°C and 605°C, respectively. The thermal conductivity of pure PDMS is approximately 0.17 W/mK, whereas a conductive elastomer filled with 5% rGO‐CaCO3 nanocomposite exhibits a thermal conductivity of 0.44 W/mK at a temperature of 20°C. In contrast, the thermal diffusivity is enhanced from 0.13 mm2/s to 0.366 mm2/s. Additionally, the Fourier Transform Infra‐Red (FTIR) spectrum at 1411 cm−1 becomes sharp and noisy, and an additional peak arises at 1398 cm−1, corresponding to the vibrational rocking of the CC bond and COC bond in CaCO3 and rGO. Highlights The manuscript focuses on the development of conductive elastomer by incorporating rGO‐CaCO3 doped and its effect on the morphology, structure, and thermal properties of PDMS. The variation in peak intensity observed in XRD attributed to disparities in the crystalline structure of PDMS due to the inclusion of nanocomposite. The thermal degradation range is observed to shift toward the upper end. The degradation temperature at the beginning and end of the process is observed to move to 492°C and 605°C, respectively, upon introducing a 5% rGO‐CaCO3 nanocomposite. The addition of 5% rGO‐CaCO3 filled conductive elastomers shows a significant improvement of approximately 2.6 times in heat conductivity than bare PDMS. (A) Schematic demonstration of the preparation of flexible elastomer. (B) Thermal conductivity of PDMS and polymer nanocomposite with varying rGO filler with (a) wt% and (b) temperature. (C) TGA‐DTA analysis of (a) PDMS, (b) 1% rGO nanocomposite‐filled elastomer, (c) 2% rGO nanocomposite‐filled elastomer, (d) 3% rGO nanocomposite‐filled conductive elastome