Time and temperature dependent piezoresistance of carbon nanofiller/polymer composites under dynamic load

In this study, the behaviour of carbon nanotube/epoxy and carbon black/epoxy composites under dynamic load is studied via dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) in combination with DC electrical resistivity measurements. DMTA measurements are carried out at fixed temperature whilst the dynamic loading frequency is varied. With this procedure, a loading frequency-dependence of the phase shift between DC electrical resistance and mechanical elongation (delta (R-epsilon)) is observed, although the force and elongation of the sample are still in phase. Moreover, the magnitude of this phase shift, as well as the amplitude of the DC electrical resistance change shows a clear dependence on the initial electrical conductivity of the samples. In addition, temperature sweeps are carried out to investigate the temperature dependency of the piezoresistance of the samples. An abrupt change in their sensitivity is observed as soon as the glass transition of the polymer is reached. However, the trend of the resistance change beyond the glass transition is substantially different between the nanocomposites containing carbon black and carbon nanotubes, revealing a strong influence of the network characteristics on the piezoresistive behaviour of these novel materials.