Poly(3-hexylthiophene) wrapped carbon nanotube/poly(dimethylsiloxane) composites for use in finger-sensing piezoresistive pressure sensors

Abstract

We fabricated a piezoresistive composite using multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a conductive filler and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a polymer matrix, which operated in the extremely small pressure range required for finger-sensing To achieve a homo geneous dispersion of MWCNTs in PDMS, the MWCNTs were modified by a polymer wrapping method using poly(3 hexylthiophene) (P3HT) The percolation threshold of the composites was significantly lowered by the presence of P3HT The electrical conductivity and piezoresistive sensitivity of the composite were found to strongly depend on the P3HT concentration The well dispersed P3HT MWCNT/PDMS composite showed good piezoresistive characteristics in the 0-0 12 MPa pressure range (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved