An analytical investigation of self-temperature-compensated stretchable piezoresistive nanocomposites containing hybrid carbon black/carbon nanotube nanofillers

Abstract

In this study, the temperature-dependent piezoresistivity of hybrid carbon black (CB)/carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites is studied using a percolation model with a Monte Carlo simulation approach. With this approach, the temperature-dependency of electrical resistivity and the strain sensitivity of the nanocomposite are investigated. In addition, other parameters such as the aspect ratio, dispersion state and dimensions’ effect on piezoresistivity of the compensated stretchable nanocomposite are investigated. By developing a temperature-dependent percolation model, the temperature sensitivity response of nanocomposite is investigated based on defining the temperature coefficient of resistance of CNT and thermal expansion coefficient of polymer. It is found that the dimensional aspects and dispersion state affected the percolation threshold and resistivity. The obtained results also indicated that the piezoresistivity increased with the decrease in the Poisson’s ratio and intrinsic electrical conductivity. Moreover, the predicted results showed high prediction accuracy for temperature-dependence resistivity compared with the existing experimental data.