Pre-strain stimulation of electro-mechanical sensitivity of carbon nanotube network/polyurethane composites

0459866 - ÚH 2017 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Slobodian, P. - Říha, Pavel - Olejník, R. - Matyáš, J. - Machovský, M.
Pre-strain stimulation of electro-mechanical sensitivity of carbon nanotube network/polyurethane composites.
IEEE Sensors Journal. Roč. 16, č. 15 (2016), s. 5898-5903. ISSN 1530-437X. E-ISSN 1558-1748
Grant - others:Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy (MŠMT)(CZ) LO1504
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510
Institutional support: RVO:67985874
Keywords : carbon nanotubes * deformation sensing polymer composite * polymer composite
OECD category: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics)
Impact factor: 2.512, year: 2016

The change of electrical resistance of a highly extensible composite sensors consisting of a network of entangled multi-wall carbon nanotubes and thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer in the course of elongation was stimulated by initial tensile deformation. Though the initial deformation changes irreversibly arrangement of carbon nanotube network, subsequent cyclic elongation and corresponding resistance change is stable. The resistance sensitivity, quantified by a gauge factor, which defines sensitivity of strain sensor as the relative resistance change divided by the applied strain, increases nearly five-times from the value of about 5 for not initially elongated composites. This is a substantial increase, which ranks the composites among materials with the highest electromechanical sensitivity. The observed sensitivity increased is discussed on basis of the cracking of nanotube network with extension when the number of contacts between nanotubes decreases and thus the network has fewer interconnections that can carry an electric current.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0260032