Title :
Fabrication of patterned carbon nanotube (CNT) / elastomer bilayer material and its utilization as force sensors
Author :
Xu, Wenjun ; Allen, Mark G.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Polymer, Textile & Fiber Eng., Georgia Inst. of Technol., Atlanta, GA, USA
Abstract :
This paper reports a room-temperature fabrication process for production of localized regions of highly-loaded carbon nanotube (CNT) networks within the surface layers of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). These bilayer micro-structures are formed by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of CNTs into a patterned mold, followed by a transfer-micromolding step. The fabricated CNTs/PDMS bilayer exhibits flexibility, maintains a high local CNT concentration while eliminating issues associated with dispersion and bulk rheology, and preserves the spatial orientation of the original EPD pattern. The use of the material is demonstrated in piezoresistive strain and transverse compression force testing, and is characterized for sensor applications.
Keywords :
carbon nanotubes; force sensors; piezoresistive devices; rheology; C; bilayer microstructures; bulk rheology; elastomer bilayer material; electrophoretic deposition; force sensors; patterned carbon nanotube; piezoresistive strain; polydimethylsiloxane; surface layers; temperature 293 K to 298 K; transfer micromolding; transverse compression force testing; Capacitive sensors; Carbon nanotubes; Fabrication; Force sensors; Materials testing; Organic materials; Piezoresistance; Production; Rheology; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Carbon nanotubes; Electrophoretic deposition; Flexible strain sensor; Micropatterning; transverse force sensor;
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems Conference, 2009. TRANSDUCERS 2009. International
Conference_Location :
Denver, CO
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4190-7
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4193-8
DOI :
10.1109/SENSOR.2009.5285594
