Abstract
A series of 1-D polymer ternary composites based on poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene) (SBS)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/few-layer graphene (FLG) conductive fibers (SCGFs) were prepared via wet-spinning. Employed as ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors, the ternary composite fiber materials’ interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism were systematically explored. The resultant SCGFs-based strain sensors simultaneously exhibited high sensitivity, superior stretchability (with a gauge factor of 5,467 under 600% deformation) and excellent durability under different test conditions due to excellent flexibility of SBS, the synergistic effect of hybrid conductive nanofibers and the strong π-π interaction. Besides, the conductive networks in SBS matrix were greatly affected by the mass ratio of CNTs and FLG, and thus the piezoresistive performances of the strain sensors could be controlled by changing the content of hybrid conductive fillers. Especially, the SCGFs with 0.30 wt.% CNTs (equal to their percolation threshold 0.30 wt.%) and 2.7 wt.% FLG demonstrated the highest sensitivity owing to the bridge effect of FLG between adjacent CNTs. Whereas, the SCGFs with 1.0 wt.% CNTs (higher than their percolation threshold) and 2.0 wt.% FLG showed the maximum strain detection range (600%) due to the welding connection caused by FLG between the contiguous CNTs. To evaluate the fabricated sensors, the tensile and the cyclic mechanical recovery properties of SCGFs were tested and analyzed. Additionally, a theoretical piezoresistive mechanism of the ternary composite fiber was investigated by the evolution of conductive networks according to tunneling theory.
摘要
针对现有导电高分子基应变传感材料无法兼顾传感性、 拉伸性和稳定性的难题, 我们采用石墨烯(FLG) 和碳纳米管(CNT) 为复合导电填料、 以聚(苯乙烯-丁二烯-苯乙烯) (SBS) 为柔性基体, 利用湿法纺丝成形技术制备了基于SBS/CNT/FLG三元复合导电纤维(SCGFs) 应变传感器. 系统研究了不同导电材料的含量与比例、 应变幅度与速率等条件下材料传感性能的变化. 结果显示: SCGFs基应变传感器兼 具高灵敏性(GF>5000)、 宽应变范围(> 600 %)与循环稳定性(>200 cycles), 同时可通过改变CNT和FLG添加量实现材料传感性能的精确调控, 这主要归因于SBS良好的拉伸-回复性能、 材料之间较强的π-π相互作用以及复合填料的协同效应. 此外, 我们通过分析拉伸-释放循环实验中SCGFs复合导电纤维导电网络的演变验证了其应变传感机理符合隧道效应理论模型.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2232018D3-03 and 2232018A3-01), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT16R13), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51603033), the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (16JC1400700) and the Innovation Program of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (2017-01-07-00-03-E00055).
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Senlong Yu is now a PhD candidate in Prof. Meifang Zhu's group at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University. His current research focuses on the smart fiber materials.
Hengxue Xiang is an assistant research fellow of Donghua University. He obtained his PhD at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University. His research focuses on the fiber formation of bio-based fibers and intelligent fibers.
Meifang Zhu is a professor at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University. Her research mainly focuses on polymer fiber and nanocomposite functional materials, application and key technology research of organic/inorganic nano hybrid materials.
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1-D polymer ternary composites: understanding materials interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism toward ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors
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Yu, S., Wang, X., Xiang, H. et al. 1-D polymer ternary composites: Understanding materials interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism toward ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors. Sci. China Mater. 62, 995–1004 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-018-9402-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-018-9402-1