Comparative Study of Strain Sensing Behaviors of Carbon Black/Polypropylene and Carbon Nanotubes/Polypropylene with Different Tensile Speeds

Abstract

Resistivity variations of carbon black (CB)/polypropylene (PP) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/PP conductive polymer composites subjected to different tensile speeds were studied with the same maximum strain 3%. With increasing tensile speed, the responsivity (ΔR/R₀, R₀ is the original resistance, ΔR is instantaneous change in resistance) shows an obvious increase for both CPCs, although the increase degree is different. CB/PP has a higher responsivity than that of CNTs/PP during the tension and unloading process. It is proposed that the difference depends mainly on the distinction in the microstructure of conductive fillers and the interaction between the fillers and the matrix.

Keywords:

• Electrical properties
• Mechanical properties
• Polymer composite

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this work by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Contract Number: 20110491003, 2012T50638) and National Natural Science Foundation of China-Henan Talents Fostering Joint Funds (Contract Number: U1204507).