The influence of liquid silicone rubber on the properties of polyurethane elastomer/liquid silicone rubber/graphene nanoplatelets stretchable conductive materials

This work reports the influence of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) as a secondary matrix in the polyurethane elastomer (PUE)/LSR/graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) stretchable conductive materials. PUE was prepared by mixing with diphenylmethane-4,4-diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4 butanediol (BDO). The content of LSR varied from 0 to 50 vol.% at fixed 1.0 vol.% of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) as a conductive filler. Liquid silicone rubber was used as the secondary immiscible phase to localize GnPs into a path in the primary phase in order to obtain higher electrical conductivity value. The tensile strength of the PUE/LSR/GnPs decreased with increasing LSR content, while the tear strength shows the optimum value at 10 vol.% of LSR. The incorporation of 20 vol.% of silicone rubber has proven to enhance the thermal stability of the blends.