STUDIES ON DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF CARBON FILLED NATURAL RUBBER

Amrutha Sebastian, Aneena Stanley, Anjitha S, Athulya A, Monu Thomas ,Stephy Vincent and
Dr.R.Sumangala*

*Department of Physics, Providence Women’s College, Calicut-9, Kerala

ABSTRACT
The dielectric properties of carbon filled natural rubber polymer were investigated as a function of filler type, filler
concentration and temperature. Pure sample of rubber and sample doped with carbon black containing different
filler concentrations (25 mg/ 50mg/ 75 mg of carbon black prepared from cashew nut shell and coconut shell in 100
ml latex) were selected. Capacitance, dielectric constant and conductivity measurements were carried out to study
how carbon black filled rubber can be used as a dielectric for fabricating efficient capacitors. The capacitance
measurements were carried out using LCR meter and multi meter. For better measurements the capacitance was
found for different samples at different temperatures using dielectric constant setup and dielectric constant for
each sample is calculated. Even though conductivity measurements were taken using four probe setup sufficient
conductivity could not be obtained. It was found that the carbon filled samples showed variation in dielectric
measurements compared to pure sample which has been graphically recorded. By analyzing SEM micrographs of
carbon filled samples, the relation between dielectric properties and carbon dispersion in the sample can be
obtained. Further studies on the topic can be carried forward for fabrication of super capacitors and super
batteries. Some of the promising current applications are light weight polymeric rechargeable batteries and fuel
cell electrodes.

1. INTRODUCTION
One of the most well-known natural
polymers is polyisoprene or natural rubber.
Rubber is found in Hevea tree, in the form of
milky white fluid called latex which occurs in the
bark of the tree. Latex contains about 30-40% of
solids and 55-60% of water. On coagulation or
evaporation to dryness, it gives a solid
substance containing approximately 95% of
poly isoprene, the rest being water and non-
rubbery substances. The latex is composed of
ting rubber particles suspended in the liquid
called serum, which is chiefly water. It is
collected from the tree, made into coagulated
form and dewatered on a roller mill.
Most polymers are electrical insulators.
Great strides have been made in preparing
polymer films, fibers and single crystals that are
electrically conductive or that can be doped to
make them so. Some polymers become
conducting after incorporation of some
‘dopant’. Such polymeric materials which show
electrical conductivity are called conducting
polymers. The structural requirement for a
conducting polymer is a conjugated electron
system. Polymers with conjugated electron
system display unusual electronic properties
including high electron affinities and low
ionization potentials. Such polymers are easily
oxidized or reduced by charge transfer agents
(dopants) that act as electron acceptors or
electron donors respectively. Electrons are
removed from or added to the conjugated
electron system to form extra holes or electrons
which carry current by wandering through the
polymer chain. The dopant plays an additional
role other than bringing about oxidation or
reduction. It acts as bridge or connection for
carrying current between different polymer
chains. (The dopant which is necessary to
impart electrical conduction, often decreases,
but does not eliminate the processability of a
polymer).
Conductive rubber has been known
ever since the 19 Th centuries. Because of many
advantages such as easy shaping, low density,
wide range of electrical conductivity, low
thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance
conductive rubber has been used in many
fields. It is formed by the compound of
conductive filler particles in an insulating rubber
polymer. The conductivity of the conductive
rubber is function of parameters like
concentration of filler, radius and structure of
filler particles and the processing conditions.
(The percolation theory governs the transition
of insulator to conductor and a critical volume
fraction of the filler is necessary for the
electrical conduction). Greater the
concentration, greater would be the
conductivity up to a certain range.
The conductivity of the natural rubber
could be increased by doping with electron
acceptor. For carbon black filled systems, the
large dispersive interaction of the polymer
chain with the filler surface implies an intensive
polymer-filler interaction leading to increase in
the conductivity of the rubber. Improvement in
rubber properties is a function of physical and
chemical characteristics of the dopant. Carbon
black is the most commonly used conducting
filler for its special structure and much lower
price in comparison with metallic powders (Ag,
Cu, Ni, etc.) and most other conductive fillers.
Physically carbon black varies in particle size,
aggregate shape, structure and porosity; while
chemically, they vary in regard to the
oxygenated features of their surface.
On the other hand, dielectric properties
result from the short range motion of charge
carriers under the influence of applied electric
field. The migration of electrical charge leads to
the polarization within the material. The
polarization disappears when the voltage is
removed. The capacitance for a parallel plate
capacitor is given by,
C=Aε/d
Where A is the area of the plate, d is the
separation between the two plates and
ε=ε0k
Where k is the dielectric constant and ε0 is the
permittivity of free space. Super capacitors also
known as ultra-capacitors or electrochemical
double layer capacitors are new breed of
capacitors having high capacitance, i.e., it has
high degree of electrical storage capacity as
compared to the traditional capacitors. Unlike
capacitors which have capacitance in the order
of microfarads, super capacitors have in the
order of farads.
2. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
2.1 SAMPLE PREPARATION
Natural rubber (100 ml latex and 2.5 ml
of dil. Formic acid) filled with different types of
carbon in different concentration(shown in
table 1) is prepared. The samples are dried for
4-5 days in sunshine. Carbon black (coconut
shell) and carbon black (cashew nut shell) were
used as carbon fillers. The samples are cut in in
rectangular shape (2cm x 1cm) and its
dimensions, i.e., length, breadth, thickness are
measured. These samples were used as the
study material for dielectric constant,
capacitance and conductivity measurements.
The maximum temperature given to the sample
was 700c to prevent the melting of the sample.
The dielectric constant measurements
of carbon black (cashewnut shell)–rubber
composites with carbon black concentration 25
mg, 50mg, 75 mg by weight in 100 ml latex is
respectively given fig.1, fig.2 and fig.3. Fig.4
shows the measurements obtained for pure
sample.fig.5-7 show the dielectric constant
measurements for rubber samples doped with
25 mg, 50 mg and 75 mg of carbon black from
coconut shell in 100 ml latex respectively. Also
fig. 8 and fig.9 are the graphs showing
variation of dielectric constant with filler
concentration at room temperature for the
samples doped with both type of carbon black
filler.

Table1: list of carbon black fillers with different

concentrations.

For measuring capacitance these properly cut

samples were coated from both sides using
metallic plates i.e., electrodes. Both Aluminium Fig.1
and Copper sheets were cut into required
dimension and used as electrodes. These were
properly insulated on respective sides using a
tape.

2.2 DIELECTRIC CONSTANT MEASUREMENT

IN RUBBER SAMPLES

Dielectric constant measurements were Fig.2

carried out using dielectric constant setup.
Measurements were done for different
concentrations of carbon black in the
temperature range 300c to 700c. The variation
of dielectric constant with temperature was
studied. Figures show the variation of dielectric
constant with different concentrations of
carbon black.

Fig.3
Fig.4

Fig.8

Fig.5

Fig.9

2.3 CAPACITANCE MEASUREMENTS IN

RUBBER SAMPLES

Capacitance measurements were taken

using LCR meter and multi meter with
capacitors fabricated by placing the different
types of carbon filled rubber samples in
Fig.6 between two electrodes. (Both Al and Cu
electrodes were used). As shown in table 2,
the capacitance measurements showed
variations when it is measured on different days
using different apparatus. This may be due to
the mismatch of impedance of the internal
circuit of the apparatus and that of the sample.
Since comparable values of capacitance for
different samples could not be obtained using
this method, dielectric constant setup (much
sensitive one) was used to measure the
capacitance of different samples at different
Fig.7
temperatures.

Table2: measurement of capacitance for various
samples.
2.4 CONDUCTIVITY MEASUREMENTS IN
RUBBER SAMPLES
Even though conductivity measurement
was taken using four probe setup, sufficient
conductivity could not be obtained. The
variation of conductivity may depend upon
carbon black type, grain size, mixing conditions,
carbon black concentration, etc. If the particles
are of nano size, the conduction may due to
polaron conduction, hopping conduction, etc.
The lack of conductivity may due to the non-
uniformity in the distribution of filler or
formation of aggregates by the filler particles.
As temperature increases, the aggregates may
have caused greater scattering than hopping,
which lead to increase in resistance, i.e.,
decrease in conductivity.
3. DISCUSSIONS
The dielectric behavior of rubber
originates from both electronic polarization and
molecular orientation. The variation of
dielectric constant with temperature for all the
prepared samples was studied in this work. For
pure sample there is a continuous increase in
dielectric constant with increase in
temperature. Since the pure sample does not
contain any traces of carbon filler, the sample
acts as a perfect insulator and hence dielectric
constant increases with temperature.
For carbon black filled with 25 mg and
50 mg of carbon black from cashew nut shell
and coconut shell in 100 ml latex, the dielectric
constant shows a small decrease up to a certain
temperature, after which it is found to increase
with increase in temperature. At this particular
temperature, there is transition from conductor
to insulator, hence known as glass transition
temperature. At this temperature there may be
decrease in resistivity.
For sample filled with 75 mg of carbon
black from cashew nut shell and coconut shell in
100 ml latex, there is a small increase in
dielectric constant up to a particular
temperature and after that dielectric constant
remains the same. So it may be used to
fabricate constant dielectric capacitor as its
dielectric constant remains same over a wide
range of temperature.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The dielectric properties of carbon
filled natural rubber polymer were investigated
as a function of filler type, filler concentration
and temperature. This work analyses the
combined effect of temperature and
concentration of filler in the carbon filled
rubber polymer by a systematic study of
dielectric properties. It was found that the
carbon filled samples showed variation in
dielectric properties compared to pure sample,
which has been graphically recorded. This
variation in dielectric property could be due to
the linkage of carbon particles between the
polymer chains. The finely ground carbon
particle could be of nanosize. Further studies on
the topic can be used to fabricate super
capacitors and super batteries. Some of the
promising current applications are light weight
polymeric rechargeable batteries and fuel cell
electrodes.

REFERENCES
1. Polymer science: A text book- V K Ahluwalia,
Anuradha Mishra.

2. Principles of polymer science- P Bahadur, N V

Sasthry.

3. Principles of Nano science and technology-

M A Shah, Tokeer Ahamed.

4. Introduction to nanotechnology- Charles P

Poole, Frank J Owens.

5. Nano materials- B Viswanathan.

6. A textbook of polymers (basic concepts) - M S

Bhatnagar.

7. A textbook of polymers (processing and

applications) - M S Bhatnagar.

8. Nanotechnology- Thomas Varghese, K M

Balakrishna.

9. Engineering physics- Prabir K Basu, Hrishikesh

Dhasmana.