Review on Metal-Filled Plastics. Part1. Electrical Conductivity

Abstract

Abstract Plastic composites are members of both the oldest and the newest of materials. The first reinforced polymeric-based materials are recorded in Genesis and Exodus in the Bible as being used by the people of Babylonia and Mesopotamia around 4000–2000 B.C. These materials consisted of bitumen-based pitch for building products and bundles of papyrus reed embedded in a bitumen matrix for the construction of river boats [1]. The Hindu Vedas (written about 1000 B.C.) refers to the use of lac (a complex polymeric substance consisting of polyether and polyester chains) with fine sand for the manufacture of whetstones, which were known in India and China for several thousand years. There are a number of examples that could date back the origin of polymer composites into antiquity [1–3]. but the science of enhancing the properties of polymeric composites by the use of suitable fillers has been practiced extensively not earlier than the beginning of this century. For example, the tensile strength of polystyrene was modified by the incorporation of glass fillers only in the 1950s, half a century later than that predicted by Backeland in the early 1900s [2]. Carbon black is known to be a potential reinforcement for rubber for over 50 years. Although glass bead and glass fibers have been known for centuries, the use of these economical products in the plastic industry is relatively new [2].