Electrical response and adsorption performance of novel composites from polystyrene filled with carbon aerogel in organic vapors

As a new nano-sized carbon material, carbon aerogels (CA) with specific properties have been applied in many fields. In this paper, new conductive polymer composites fabricated by polystyrene (PS) filled with carbon aerogels were reported. Their electrical property, gas responsivity and adsorption behaviors in organic vapors were studied. The experimental results showed that carbon aerogels were well qualified for the candidates to make gas sensing conductive polymer composites. The resistance responses were affected not only by the content of carbon aerogels in the matrix, but by the adsorption phenomena of vapors on the composites and the fillers. Compared with carbon black/polystyrene (CB/PS) composites, the carbon aerogel/polystyrene (CA/PS) composites showed better gas responsivity. This is attributed mainly to the much more CA capacity of CA to organic vapors than CB due to the specific structure of CA.