Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticle-decorated coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads and their application in antistatic polypropylene composites

A conductive powder of coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads (CMs) coated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles was synthesized by a simplified electroless plating method. CMs were coated with uniform and dense Ag nanoparticles (Ag@CMs) to form a conductive structure consisting of internal conductive channels and a surface coating layer. The powder volume resistivity of Ag@CMs reached 1.47 Ω·cm. Subsequently, Ag@CMs were mixed with polypropylene (PP) to prepare an Ag@CMs@PP composite with a volume resistivity of 3.35 × 10 5 Ω·cm, a tensile strength of 26.06 MPa, and an elongation at break of 43.09%. Due to the high specific surface area (65.41 m 2 /g), small particle size (8.13 μm), and low density (1.51 g/cm 3 ) of Ag@CMs, the Ag@CMs@PP composite had better volume resistivity and mechanical properties than the PP composite filling with commercial silver-plated glass beads. The findings of this research could provide a theoretical foundation for future applications of Ag@CMs. • Coal gasification fine slag porous microbeads coated with Ag were successfully prepared. • The resistivity of Ag@CM composite conductive powders reached 1.47 Ω·cm with an average particle size of 8.13 μm. • PP composite resistivity reached 3.35 × 10 5 Ω·cm with the addition of 10 wt% of Ag@CM. • The porous structure made Ag@CM more competitive than other silver-plated glass beads.