Determination of the electrical percolation threshold of Polystyrene-Graphene Oxide nanocomposite using the experiment and simulation methods

Carbon nanostructures via adding to a polymer matrix, while improving the electrical, mechanical and optical properties of the nanocomposites, are widely used in the industry, medicine, and agriculture. The authors presented several investigations on a new type of gamma dosimeter based on the polymer-carbon nanostructures nanocomposite. In this research, the electrical percolation threshold of the Polystyrene-Graphene Oxide nanocomposite (PS/GO) was simulated using the finite element method in different weight percentages. Then, at the experimental phase, various nanocomposites were fabricated in different weight percentages of 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 8 via the mixed-solution process. The electrical conductivities of the samples were measured at the room temperature. Finally, the electrical conductivities of the nanocomposites were compared using the FEM simulation and the experimental results, which were estimated as 2.5wt%. The results of this study showed that the finite element method in accordance with the experimental results is a powerful tool to determine the electrical properties of the polymer nanocomposites considering the dosimetric approaches.