Unveiling the Contribution of Scaling‐Based Defective Polymer/Particle Interphase Region to the Electrical Conductivity in Polymer Nanocomposites: The Role of Percolated Dispersed and Randomly Formed Aggregated/Agglomerated Nanoparticle Domains

This study analytically examined how a defective polymer/particle interphase affects the electrical conductivity of polymer nanocomposites containing both dispersed and aggregated/agglomerated nanoparticle domains. To achieve this, a comprehensive model was developed based on combining excluded volume and percolation‐based network strategies. The formation of the interphase was modeled using De Gennes's scaling theory, which also accounted for the effects of notch‐like and void defects on the electrical properties. The nanoparticle clusters were considered to consist of both aggregated and agglomerated nanoparticles, whose distinguished effects on the electrical conductivity of the system were evaluated using a specifically devised approach. A dedicated software was designed to provide all the necessary information about randomly formed nanoparticle clusters. It was observed that while dispersion quality can significantly influence electrical behavior, the overall contribution of dispersed and aggregated nanoparticles to the formation of conductive networks can be quite random. The results showed that the variation in the physical characteristics of the defects can change the thermal conductivity of the interphase region up to 7%, whereas the alteration in the content of nanoparticles resulted in a variation in the percolation capability up to 55%.