Processing and Properties of Carbon Black- Filled Electrically Conductive Nylon-12 Nanocomposites Produced by Selective Laser Sintering

Electrically conductive polymer composites are suitable for use in the manufacture of antistatic products and components for electronic interconnects fuel cells and electromagnetic shielding. Selective laser sintering (SLS) was used to investigate the fabrication of electrically conductive nanocomposites of Nylon-12 filled with 4% by weight of carbon black. The effect of laser power and the scan speed on the flexural modulus and part density of the nanocomposite were studied. The set of parameters that yielded the maximum flexural modulus and part density was used to fabricate specimens to study the tensile, impact, rheological and viscoelastic properties. The electrical conductivity of the nanocomposite was investigated. The densities and the microstructures of the nanocomposites were studied using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The morphology of the nanocomposites was investigated using X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry.