Preparation of PVOH coatings with graphene nanoplatelets for electrostatic discharge protective packaging

• Applied graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) to ESD corrugated board.
• Obtained the electrical percolation thresholds under different humidity.
• Compared the GNP/PVOH to other conduct filler.
• Investigated the surface resistivity under different humidity.
• Evaluated the physical properties of the GNP/PVOH coated corrugated board.

This study investigated the use of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) as a conductive filler for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protective packaging. Various weight concentrations of GNP were mixed and sonicated with polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH). The resulting polymer solution was applied as a coating to corrugated board in order to form an ESD packaging. Surface resistivity, mechanical strength and coating adhesion were then measured. The study found that the electrical percolation threshold of the PVOH/GNP coating is 9–13wt% GNP. GNP incorporated PVOH coatings with surface resistivity of 103–108 Ω/sq. generally meet all of ESD packaging requirements. The humidity strongly affects the surface resistivity of the coatings below the percolation threshold, but the change of the surface resistivity with humidity is less significant above the percolation threshold.

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