Influence of dispersing additives on the conductivity of carbon black pigment dispersion

The influence of dispersing additives on the electrical conductivity of carbon black pigments dispersed in an organic medium was studied. Two dispersing additives were examined in combination with two different carbon blacks, a conductive carbon black and a nonconductive one. These carbon blacks differ in the size of their aggregates and in the amounts of surface oxygen groups. Both of the additives form a monolayer when adsorbed on either of the pigment surfaces. FTIR studies showed that chemical bonding of one of the additives on the surfaces of both pigments had occurred. Conductivity decreases with increasing additive concentration, but in the case of the chemically bonded additive, the conductivity of the dispersion remained high even at higher additive loadings. This study helps in understanding the effects such additives have on the specific conductivity of composite materials that contain dispersed carbon black pigment particles.