Patent ID: 7491356

Claim:
A method to extrude a metal polymer composite, the composite comprising a metal particulate phase and a polymer phase, the method comprising: (a) combining: (i) about 96 to 45 volume-% of a metal particulate comprising 5 wt-% or less of particles having a particle size of less than 10 microns, the metal having a density greater than 8 gm-cm −3 , in a particulate phase having a particle size distribution having at least 10 wt.-% of particulate within of about 10 to 70 microns, at least 20 wt.-% of the polymer particulate within about 70 to 500 microns, a circularity greater than 13 and an aspect ratio less than 3; (ii) about 4 to 53 volume-% of a polymer phase; and (iii) about 0.005 to 3 wt.-% of an interfacial modifier material to form a composite mix; and (b) extruding the composite mixture at a temperature greater than 100° C. and at a shear rate of about 1 to 500 sec −1 to form an extruded metal polymer composite; wherein the extruded composite has a density greater than about 7 gm-cm −3 and a storage modulus of greater than 300 MPa.