Morphology, conductivity, and mechanical properties of polypyrrole-containing composites

An electrical-conducting polypropylene/polypyrrole (PP/PPY) composite was p repared by the chemically oxidative modification reaction of pyrrole on the surface of PP particles in suspension. Another type of PP/PPy composite wa s prepared by mixing the coated PP particles with noncoated PP particles at room temperature. The composites were processed by compression molding or by injection molding. The injection-molded composites exhibited better mech anical properties compared to compression-molded samples, while these compo sites showed better antistatic behavior and electrical conductivity. The di fferences in the behavior of the two types of composites were caused by the different structure of the PPy phase, which was studied by hot-stage optic al microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).