Electrically conductive strain sensing polyurethane nanocomposites with synergistic carbon nanotubes and graphene bifillers

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) based conductive polymer composites (CPCs) with a reduced percolation threshold and tunable resistance-strain sensing behavior were obtained through the addition of synergistic carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene bifillers. The percolation threshold of graphene was about 0.006 vol% when the CNT content was fixed at 0.255 vol% that is below the percolation threshold of CNT/TPU nanocomposites. The synergistic effect between graphene and CNT was identified using the excluded volume theory. Graphene acted as a 'spacer' to separate the entangled CNTs from each other and the CNT bridged the broad gap between individual graphene sheets, which was beneficial for the dispersion of CNT…

• CP
  China Postdoctoral Science Foundation

  Award: 2015M580637
• CS
  China Scholarship Council