The dominant role of tunneling in the conductivity of carbon nanofiber-epoxy composites

Abstract

In this work, epoxy composites reinforced with vapor-grown carbon nanofibers were prepared by a simple dispersion method and studied in order to identify the main conduction mechanism. The samples show high electrical conductivity values. The results indicate that a good cluster distribution seems to be more important than the fillers dispersion in order to achieve high conductivity values. Interparticle tunneling has been identified as the main mechanism responsible for the observed behavior.