Modelling the DC electrical conductivity of polymer/carbon black composites

• GEM model did not fit accurately the experimental data for high concentrations.
• Using Mamunya model with adjustable parameters to fit experimental data.
• Non-universality of the calculated exponent.

Several DC electrical conductivity models have been proposed to explain the properties of composite materials. In particular, generalized effective medium model was used, but, in many cases, the obtained parameters do not fit accurately the data. In this paper, we extended the study to Mamunya model, with adjustable parameters. Using different carbon black nanocomposites, we obtained a good agreement with the experimental results, but only for concentrations above the percolation critical concentration. Below this point, the fit is not accurate.