Argon plasma-pretreated high-density polyethylene (PHDPE) was blended with the conductive nano carbon black (CB) and inorganic flame retardant (magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2) was added. Influences of the CB content, plasma treatment time, plasma treatment power, and dosage of 60Co γ-ray radiation on positive temperature coefficient (PTC) behaviors of composite were studied. In addition, the over-voltage resistance behavior of the composites was also investigated. The free radical of PHDPE was measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) method. The gel contents of composite were measured by solvent extraction method. The results showed that the room-temperature volume resistivity and PTC effect of composite were improved significantly with plasma treatment. The PHDPE composite with 60Co γ-ray radiation eliminated the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) effect in the composites effectively, and the PTC intensity of composite was increased. With increasing of radiation dosage from 20 Mrads to 80 Mrads, the gel content of composites increased up to 83.84% and the response temperature of composites shifted to low temperature (127.5 °C to 114.8 °C). In this work, the composites also successfully passed the over-voltage resistance test, and possessed good reproducibility.
