Effect of SnO2 and Sb-doped SnO2 on the structure and electrical conductivity of epichlorohydrin rubber

Nanosized Sb doped SnO2 (ATO) particles were successfully synthesized. Electrically conducting rubbery composites based on epichlorohydrin rubber (ECO) and two kinds of conductive fillers (SnO2 and ATO) were prepared by a conventional blending method. The morphology, structure and electrical conductivity of ECO/SnO2 and ECO/ATO composites were investigated. Results showed that SnO2 and ATO had great influence on the structure of ECO composite. Besides, the addition of oxide particles enhanced its electrical conductivity significantly. The electrical conductivity of ECO/ATO composite appeared an obvious threshold value with the variation of the loading amount of ATO fillers, whereas the resistivity of ECO filled with SnO2 decreased monotonically with the increasing SnO2. The temperature dependence of resistivity indicated that the ECO/SnO2 and ECO/ATO composites exhibited a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) effect. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphological states of oxide fillers in ECO matrix, and specifically continuous networks were observed. POLYM. COMPOS., 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers