Conductive plastic

Letter 9011

Conductive plastic

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Where can I purchase conductive plastic?

girish desai
- Raichur, India

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Unfortunately plastic is non-conductive. Certain types of ABS plastic are chemically treated with activator baths prior to electroplating them. Thus, when you hear "plating on plastic", the surface is conditioned.

Bill Hemp
tech svc. w/ chemical supplier - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Conductive polymers do exist, so I'm told, and I would assume conductive plastics do also. I found one reference to such materials - Publication #9902 from the Society of Plastics Engineers, titled Conductive Polymers and Plastics in Industrial Applications. I haven't checked it out, but it might help you out.

James Davila
- Dayton, Ohio

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"Conductive plastic" can be made of plastic resin that has been embedded with carbon powder or fibre. This gives the plastic material a lower value of surface (10^5 - 10^11 ohm/sq) and volume resistivity. This has been used typically for containers for semiconductor components and assemblies for ESD protection and discharge.

Jeffrey Tan
- Singapore

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It is no problem to producing conductive PE or HDPE and other plastics. If you could specify the resistivity, that you need, and other conditions of use, it can be done by using different filler compositions.

József Makai
- Szentendre, Hungary

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There are several plastic materials available in conductive grades. Usually a carbon-filler is added to the base resin to give the material conductive properties. Both ABS & HIPS are both blended in conductive grades.

Chris Kietzke
plastics - Fullerton, California

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Conductive Plastic Sources:
Westlake Plastics, Lenni, PA; rod, sheet, & film, different plastics
Boedecker Plastics
RTP Corp
Laird Plastics, Baltimore, MD; Conductive Teflon
Rotec Chemicals Ltd., England ("Tecrothene C511" rotomolding compound)

Conductive Elastomers:
Home Rubber Co., New Jersey; custom molded rubber parts
Stockwell Rubber Co, Philadelphia PA; conductive silicon, sponge, neoprene, and RTV adhesive
Aldan Industries, Danville PA; cond. rubber sheet

Mark Wallner
rocket propellant - Indian Head Maryland

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Conductive plastics source: PolyOne "Stat-Tech" polymer compounds use a variety of base resins and fillers to achieve surface resistivity values down to 10E0 ohms/square.

M. Cathey
- Akron, Ohio

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There are plastics that are intrinsically conductive (the 200 Nobel prize was awarded for them.) Polyaniline, PEDOT, Polyaniline, Polythiophenes, BESB, just to name a few. However they are extremely difficult to process. The highest conductivity is that of 10^5 siemens (on the same order of magnitude of copper) However it quickly looses that conductivity. Your best bet for a stable polymer is probably polyaniline which can be synthesized with ease but its conductivity is only ~1000 siemens. Its commercially available from sigma Aldrich. and there is also a Finnish company that sells a melt processable blend although I'm not sure of its conductivity, or the name.

Peter Halverson
- Provo, Utah

June 16, 2008

As part of an attempt to make photovoltaic cells, I would like to make thin electrically conductive plastic sheeting that is also fairly transparent using finely powdered graphite. Can anyone tell me where I can find procedures for synthesis?

Jim Gaw
photovoltaics - Carbondale, Colorado

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