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Carbon nanotube/rubber composites for pressure sensing applications

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Abstract

Piezoresistive materials are widely used in tensile and pressure sensing applications. In this research piezoresistive materials were developed by incorporating multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) into natural and synthetic rubber lattices. The resistance variation of the composite material having constant filler loading (20 phr) with and without applied load was determined. The resistance gap between “with load” and “without load” varies with the type of rubber lattice. The highest resistance gap (1.284 kΩ–36.415 MΩ) was observed for natural rubber/MWCNT composite. The log of the resistance was linearly decreased when the applied load is increased. The relationship remains linear for 10, 20, 30, and 40 phr of CNT filler in the composite. In order to develop a NR-based piezoresistive material the current investigation would be helpful.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) Operation of the Ministry of Higher Education funded by the World Bank and the Center for Nanocomposites Research at University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

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Correspondence to Thusitha N. B. Etampawala.

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De Silva, D.J., Abeysinghe, H., Pamunuwa, P. et al. Carbon nanotube/rubber composites for pressure sensing applications. MRS Advances 7, 1004–1009 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-022-00315-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-022-00315-1

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