Computational and experimental study of electrical conductivity of graphene/poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite using Monte Carlo method and percolation theory

• The resistance of graphene/PMMA was calculated using a tunneling model.
• Graphene/PMMA nanocomposite was synthesized using a one-pot method.
• The experimental results were compared with the calculated data.
• The size effect on resistance was discussed based on the simulated results.

Graphene/insulator nanocomposite has potential applications in electric/magnetic shielding and printing circuit. It is necessary to develop fundamental knowledge of the transport mechanism of graphene/insulator nanocomposite and find the significant factors that control the electrical conductivity. A numerical model based on Monte Carlo method and percolation theory was developed for graphene/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposite in this study. The contact resistance between graphene sheets was discussed, and the tunneling resistance played the determinant role in the overall resistivity. The effect of graphene size was studied using this model, results suggested that smaller the size of graphene sheet is, more conductive the composite is. Preliminary experimental results were compared with the simulation results, and they are in agreement, proving the accuracy of this numerical model.