Photoacoustic measurement of thermal properties of polystyrene metal oxide composites

Thermal properties (diffusivity, effusivity and conductivity) of polystyrene filled with low content of metal oxide (ZnO and MnO) particles are measured using heat transmission configuration of photoacoustic technique. The results show that ZnO changes thermal transport properties of polymer more effectively than MnO. The obtained data of the thermal conductivity are well explained by Lichtenecker's equation for thermal conductivity of two phase system. The experimental values of thermal conductivity of the composites have been used to estimate thermal conductivity of metal oxides. The data presented here show that this method is sensitive enough to detect variations in thermal properties of polymers due to addition of slight amount of particulate solids.