Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foam
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) embedded into a polymeric foam demonstrate an enhancement in electrical and mechanical properties of the final nanocomposite. The enhanced material with new characteristics, e.g., piezoresistivity, can be substituted with the traditional metallic material to design sensors, sw...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Composites Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-477X/4/3/131 |
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| author | Enea De Meo Simone Agnelli Antonino Veca Valentia Brunella Marco Zanetti |
| author_facet | Enea De Meo Simone Agnelli Antonino Veca Valentia Brunella Marco Zanetti |
| author_sort | Enea De Meo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Carbon nanotubes (CNT) embedded into a polymeric foam demonstrate an enhancement in electrical and mechanical properties of the final nanocomposite. The enhanced material with new characteristics, e.g., piezoresistivity, can be substituted with the traditional metallic material to design sensors, switches, and knobs directly into a single multifunctional component. Research activities in this field are moving towards a mono-material fully integrated smarts components. In order to achieve this goal, a simple method is developed to produce piezoresistive polyurethane/CNT foams. The novelty consists in applying the dispersion of CNT considering industrial production constrains, in order to facilitate its introduction into a common industrial practice. Three kinds of PU-CNT foam have been prepared and tested: PU-CNT 1.5%, PU-CNT-COOH 1.0%, and PU-CNT-COOH 1.5%. Polyurethane with CNT-COOH showed an insulating-conductive transition phenomenon when the foam reaches the 80% of its compression strain with a Gauge factor (Gf) of about 30. Instead, PU-CNT showed conductivity only at 1.5% of filler concentration and a steady piezoresistive behavior with a Gf of 80. However, this samples did not show the insulating-conductive transition. Having improved the electromechanical properties of final nanocomposite polyurethane foam demonstrates that the proposed method can be applied differently for design sensors and switches. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:32:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fc42ab410ac5482ca3811760e33eb855 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-477X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:32:25Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Composites Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-fc42ab410ac5482ca3811760e33eb8552023-11-20T12:45:27ZengMDPI AGJournal of Composites Science2504-477X2020-09-014313110.3390/jcs4030131Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foamEnea De Meo0Simone Agnelli1Antonino Veca2Valentia Brunella3Marco Zanetti4Department of Chemistry, NIS and INSTM Reference Centres, University of Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, NIS and INSTM Reference Centres, University of Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Torino, ItalyCentro Ricerche Fiat. S.C.p.A.—Group Materials Labs, C.so Settembrini 40, 10135 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, NIS and INSTM Reference Centres, University of Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry, NIS and INSTM Reference Centres, University of Torino, Via P. Giuria 7, 10125 Torino, ItalyCarbon nanotubes (CNT) embedded into a polymeric foam demonstrate an enhancement in electrical and mechanical properties of the final nanocomposite. The enhanced material with new characteristics, e.g., piezoresistivity, can be substituted with the traditional metallic material to design sensors, switches, and knobs directly into a single multifunctional component. Research activities in this field are moving towards a mono-material fully integrated smarts components. In order to achieve this goal, a simple method is developed to produce piezoresistive polyurethane/CNT foams. The novelty consists in applying the dispersion of CNT considering industrial production constrains, in order to facilitate its introduction into a common industrial practice. Three kinds of PU-CNT foam have been prepared and tested: PU-CNT 1.5%, PU-CNT-COOH 1.0%, and PU-CNT-COOH 1.5%. Polyurethane with CNT-COOH showed an insulating-conductive transition phenomenon when the foam reaches the 80% of its compression strain with a Gauge factor (Gf) of about 30. Instead, PU-CNT showed conductivity only at 1.5% of filler concentration and a steady piezoresistive behavior with a Gf of 80. However, this samples did not show the insulating-conductive transition. Having improved the electromechanical properties of final nanocomposite polyurethane foam demonstrates that the proposed method can be applied differently for design sensors and switches.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-477X/4/3/131nanocompositeconductive polymerspolymer-matrix composites (PMCs)electrical properties |
| spellingShingle | Enea De Meo Simone Agnelli Antonino Veca Valentia Brunella Marco Zanetti Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foam Journal of Composites Science nanocomposite conductive polymers polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) electrical properties |
| title | Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foam |
| title_full | Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foam |
| title_fullStr | Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foam |
| title_full_unstemmed | Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foam |
| title_short | Piezoresistive and mechanical Behavior of CNT based polyurethane foam |
| title_sort | piezoresistive and mechanical behavior of cnt based polyurethane foam |
| topic | nanocomposite conductive polymers polymer-matrix composites (PMCs) electrical properties |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-477X/4/3/131 |
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