Carbon black dispersion by electrical measurements

One of the most important aspects in rubber compounding is achieving good c arbon black dispersion in polymeric matrices. The dispersion problem is a l ength scale phenomenon. The existing experimental tools, which are capable of measuring dispersion, for example Transmission Electron Microscope, Mech anical Scanning Microscope, Optical Microscopy, and Reflectometry, have lim itations and the information that they provide is incomplete. The recent ad vance in instrumentation allows one to include electrical measurements in t he arsenal of tools available to quantify dispersion. This paper addresses the DC measurements of rubber compounds including volume resistivity experi ments. The approach of measuring current vs. voltage allows one to evaluate the average gap between carbon black aggregates. The results demonstrate t hat electrical measurements could play an important role in better understa nding the filter distribution in bulk elastomeric compound.