EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND COMPRESSION ON ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF CNT-PEEK COMPOSITES M. Mohiuddin and S. V. Hoa* Concordia Centre for Composites, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montréal, Québec, Canada H3G 1M8 Center for Research in Materials and Composites (CREPEC) moh_mohi@encs.concordia.ca, hoasuon@alcor.concordia.ca SUMMARY The effects of temperature and compression on the electrical conductivity of Poly Ether Ether Ketone (PEEK) filled with multi-walled carbon nanotube are investigated. Melt mixing was used to prepare the samples. The results show that increases in temperature (below Tg) and compression pressure result in increase in electrical conductivity. Keywords: Compression Pressure, Carbon nanotubes, electrical conductivity, micro structure. ABSTRACT The novel properties and multifunctionality (such as electrical conductivity) of carbon nano tubes have stimulated tremendous interest in the development of nanotube reinforced polymer composites. The electrical conductivity of the nanotube filled PEEK composites is due to continuous conductive network formed in a specific arrangement by the nanotubes. An experimental investigation of electrical conductivity of nano composites consisting of CVD-grown multi-walled Carbon Nanotube and Poly Ether Ether Ketone is presented in this paper. Three different weight percentages of carbon nano tubes were dispersed with PEEK through intense shear mixing by calendaring technique in Brabender at 380°C. The resulting nanocomposites were processed into round shaped pieces of 25.4 mm diameter and 1.5 mm thickness. The samples are then simultaneously compressed by applying a pressure from zero to 40 MPa with an interval of 2 MPa and heated from 40°C to 140°C at an interval of 10°C. It has been found that electrical conductivity increases significantly with the application of heat and pressure. The results are graphically represented and supported by SEM images of the sample before and after applying pressure and temperature. 1. INTRODUCTION Because of their nano-scale dimensions, exceptionally high electrical and thermal conductivities, low density, high tensile strength and Young’s modulus, Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) have attracted considerable attention from both academic and technological areas to be an excellent choice of filler material for polymeric composites [1]. Since polymeric composites are multi-phase systems, their properties