This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will test a processing scheme for introducing exceptional electrical conductivity to a class of high-temperature, high-strength polymer fibers. These polymer fibers include poly (p-phenylene terephthalamid) PPTA, poly (p-phenylene benzobisthiazole) PBZT and poly (p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) PBO. They are prepared from their nematic liquid crystalline solutions under a very high extensional flow. As a result, they exhibit extremely high molecular orientation and tensile mechanical properties. In this Phase I research program, metal precursors will be incorporated into the high-performance polymer fibers and subsequently reduced to form a continuous network of the highly conductive metal in the fiber matrix giving rise to the conductivity. The proposed processing scheme is fully in line with commercial production of the aforementioned high-performance polymer fibers. The highly-conductive metal-containing polymer fibers are expected to have advantages over conductor metal wires in flexibility, durability, weight savings, mechanical strength, fine diameter and tailored electrical conductivity. They have great potential for power and signal transfer and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications in space and aerospace vehicles and automobiles, where flexibility, weight savings and mechanical durability are important. The proposed processing scheme can be readily incorporated into the commercial production of many high-performance polymer fibers. The resulting conductive metal-containing polymer fibers are potential candidates for replacing metal wires for power and signal transfer and EMI shielding in space and aerospace vehicles as well as in automobiles, leading to improved system performance and reduced operation cost.
