title: Graphene-Elastomer Composites with Segregated Nanostructured Network for Liquid and Strain Sensing Application.
abstract: One of the critical issues for the fabrication of desirable sensing materials has focused on the construction of an effective continuous network with a low percolation threshold. Herein, graphene-based elastomer composites with a segregated nanostructured graphene network were prepared by a novel and effective ice-templating strategy. The segregated graphene network bestowed on the natural rubber (NR) composites an ultralow electrical percolation threshold (0.4 vol %), 8-fold lower than that of the NR/graphene composites with homogeneous dispersion morphology (3.6 vol %). The resulting composites containing 0.63 vol % graphene exhibited high liquid sensing responsivity (6700), low response time (114 s), and good reproducibility. The unique segregated structure also provides this graphene-based elastomer (containing 0.42 vol % graphene) with exceptionally high stretchability, sensitivity (gauge factor ≈ 139), and good reproducibility (∼400 cycles) of up to 60% strain under cyclic tests. The fascinating performances highlight the potential applications of graphene-elastomer composites with an effective segregated network as multifunctional sensing materials.
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Guangdong Province for High Property and Functional Macromolecular Materials, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Guangdong Province for High Property and Functional Macromolecular Materials, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xuchu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Guangdong Province for High Property and Functional Macromolecular Materials, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shuqi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Guangdong Province for High Property and Functional Macromolecular Materials, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Guangdong Province for High Property and Functional Macromolecular Materials, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: College of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Guangdong Province for High Property and Functional Macromolecular Materials, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: composites; elastomer; graphene; liquid sensing; segregated network; strain sensing