ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE METAL IMPREGNATED ELASTOMER MATERIALS AND METHODS OF FORMING ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE METAL IMPREGNATED ELASTOMER MATERIALS

摘要

An electrically conductive, compliant elastomer material that is impregnated with a metal is formed by combining a metal salt with an elastomer precursor material to form a metal salt/precursor mixture, curing the metal salt/precursor mixture to form an elastomer impregnated with metal salt, and treating the elastomer impregnated with metal salt with a chemical reducing composition so as to convert at least a portion of the metal salt impregnated within the elastomer to a metal. The elastomer can be subjected to a suitable solvent that swells the elastomer during the chemical reduction of the metal salt to metal, which enhances the mechanical and electrical properties of the resultant metal impregnated elastomer material.