Effects of graphene nanoplatelet size and surface area on the AC electrical conductivity and dielectric constant of epoxy nanocomposites

Epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with various grades of multilayer graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are manufactured and tested. The effects of size, surface area, and concentration of GNP, as well as alternating current (AC) frequency on the electrical and dielectric properties of epoxy nanocomposites are experimentally investigated. GNPs with larger size and surface area are always beneficial to increase the electrical conductivity of the composites. However, their effects on the dielectric constant are highly dependent on GNP concentration and AC frequency. At lower GNP concentration, the dielectric constant increases proportionally with the increase in GNP size, while decreasing as the AC frequency increases. At higher GNP concentration in epoxy, the dielectric constant first increases with the increase of the GNP size, but decreases thereafter. This trend is also observed for varying the processed GNP surface area on the dielectric constant. Moreover, the variations of the electrical conductivity and dielectric constant with the GNP concentration and AC frequency are then correlated with the measured interfiller spacing and GNP diameter.