The piezoresistive performance investigation of multifunctional genuine nanocomposites thin films

In this work, piezoresistive properties of thin films based on carbon nanomaterials dispersed in intrinsically conductive polymer were investigated. The high conductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes / graphene oxide and Poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polymerized with poly (4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin films were prepared and deposited on flexible polymer substrates (Kapton HN500, 125 μm) by solution drop casting. The influences of mixing ratio of MWCNT:GO to PEDOT:PSS and of the chemical reduction on the electromechanical thin film properties such as electrical conductivity and strain sensitivity were investigated. For the non-treated thin films, a negative resistance coefficient was observed for the applied strain force with low strain sensitivity around -1.9. This behavior was independent on the mixing ratio between the MWCNT:GO to PEDOT:PSS. However, and for the chemically reduced thin films, two strain regions were distinguished with sensitivity up to 92. In general, MWCNT:GO/ PEDOT:PSS films have potential as a high conductive, high strain sensitive material for advanced structural health monitoring and aerospace applications.