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High-performance graphene-based carbon nanofiller/polymer composites for piezoresistive sensor applications

Authors: P Costa;J. Nunes-Pereira;J. Oliveira;Jaime Silva;J. Agostinho Moreira;S.A.C. Carabineiro;J.G. Buijnsters;S. Lanceros-Mendez

Ref.: Compos. Sci. Technol. 153, 241-252 (2017)

Abstract: Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composites with different carbonaceous nanofillers, prepared by solution casting, were studied their chemical, mechanical, electrical and electro-mechanical properties evaluated. Few-layer graphene (FLG) nanoplatelets (G-NPL), graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNH)) were found to have a strong influence in the overall properties of the composites prepared with up to 5 wt% nanofiller contents. The mechanical strain of carbonaceous nanofillers/PVDF composites decreases from 15% to near 5% of maximum strain. The electrical percolation threshold depends on the nanofiller type, being below 1 wt% for rGO and near 2 wt% for the remaining nanofillers. The electrical conductivity shows a maximum increase of nine orders of magnitude, from σ ≈ 5 × 10−11 S/m of pure PVDF to σ ≈ 1 × 10−2 S/m for rGO/PVDF composites with 5 wt% nanofillers. The conduction mechanism being related to hopping between the carbonaceous nanofillers for concentrations higher than the percolation threshold. Furthermore, the composites show electro-mechanical properties, except for G-NPL materials, with rGO/PVDF composites with 5 wt% nanofiller content showing higher Gauge factor (GF) values, reaching GF≈ 11 for deformations between 0.5 and 2 mm in 4-point bending experiments. These results demonstrate the suitability of the composites for strain sensing applications.

DOI: 10.1016/j.compscitech.2017.11.001