Graphene nanosheet/Cu nanowire composite aerogel with a thin PDMS coating for electrically conductive pressure sensing rubber

Electrically conductive rubber is considered as one of the promising materials in the fields of energy storage devices, electromagnetic shielding, and smart sensors. However, narrow variable resistance range, limited electrical conductivity, and poor mechanical properties are the most important technical challenges for current conductive rubbers. Herein, 3-D conductive graphene nanosheet/Cu nanowire/PDMS (GCuP) composite rubbers with enhanced mechano-electrical properties were presented for the novel piezoresistive pressure sensors. Excitingly, these GCuP rubbers possessed the better sensitivity, conductivity, and mechanical properties than GR rubbers, due to the presence of highly conductive Cu nanowires and the protective effect of thin PDMS coating. The proposed GCuP (1.5:1) rubber showed that the resistance decreased from 5600 Omega to 32 Omega when the deformation increased from 0% to 50%. Furthermore, the three main composite materials effectively improved the oxidation resistance (stable at 120 degrees C) of the GCuP rubbers by their synergistic effects.

Automated summary

Electrically conductive rubber is a promising material in the fields of energy storage devices, electromagnetic shielding, and smart sensors, but faces challenges such as narrow variable resistance range, limited electrical conductivity, and poor mechanical properties. In this study, a novel 3-D conductive graphene nanosheet/Cu nanowire/PDMS (GCuP) composite rubber was proposed for piezoresistive pressure sensors, showing improved sensitivity, conductivity, and mechanical properties. The GCuP rubber demonstrated a decreased resistance from 5600 Omega to 32 Omega with deformation from 0% to 50%, and enhanced oxidation resistance at 120 degrees C through synergistic effects of the composite materials.