Combined Experimental and Computational Prediction of the Piezoresistivity of Alkali-Activated Inorganic Polymers

Abstract

The incorporation of smart building materials into construction will improve the working life of structures and infrastructure around the globe. Unfortunately, conventional smart building materials are cost-prohibitive because of the self-sensing additives required. Alkali-activated inorganic polymers are a promising low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative that exhibit intrinsic self-sensing properties, without the need for self-sensing additives. An improved methodology has been developed to quantify the self-sensing piezoresistivity of these materials. Experimental measurements reveal a strong intrinsic piezoresistivity up to 12%. The results agree with a first-principles model of the theoretical piezoresistivity of an alkali-activated inorganic polymer from the quantum mechanical perturbation theory. This first-of-its-kind computation provides a mechanistic explanation for the origin of intrinsic piezoresistivity in inorganic polymers.