Structural and Electrical Properties of Graphite Platelet Films Deposited on Low Density Polyethylene Substrate

New materials for thermoresistive applications in flexible electronics can be obtained by combining dielectric polymeric substrates with electrically conductive coatings. In this work, graphite platelet (GP) films were obtained by spraying a commercial graphite lacquer on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) substrates. According to the scanning electron microscopy investigation and X-ray diffraction analysis, the deposited films are composed of graphite platelets uniformly covering the substrate surface. The graphite platelets are composed of crystallites with an average size of 14 nm. The thermoresistive behavior of the GP on LDPE samples was investigated from 20 °C to 120 °C. The resistance of the samples increases considerably in the 20-100 °C range and decreases sharply for temperatures above 100 °C. The resistance behavior is dominated by the thermal properties of the polymeric substrate. The study confirms that GP on LDPE can be a promising and inexpensive material to use in thermoresistive devices.