title: Engineering Crack Formation in Carbon Nanotube-Silver Nanoparticle Composite Films for Sensitive and Durable Piezoresistive Sensors.
abstract: We report highly sensitive and reliable strain sensors based on silver nanoparticle (AgNP) and carbon nanotube (CNT) composite thin films. The CNT/AgNP was prepared by a screen printing process using a mixture of a CNT paste and an AgNP ink. It is discovered that the sensitivity of such sensors are highly dependent on the crack formation in the composites. By altering the substrate use and the relative ratios of AgNPs and CNTs, the formation and propagation of cracks can be properly engineered, leading to piezoresistive strain sensors with enhanced sensitivity and robustness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida State University, 2005 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL, 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Phong
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tran Hoang
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida State University, 2005 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL, 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida State University, 2005 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL, 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas Nolan
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Porkka
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida State University, 2005 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL, 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Kunal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Joshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida State University, 2005 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL, 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida State University, 2005 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL, 32310, USA. dickens@eng.fsu.edu.
authors.forename: Tarik J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Dickens
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, High-Performance Materials Institute, Florida State University, 2005 Levy Ave., Tallahassee, FL, 32310, USA. zyu@fsu.edu.
authors.forename: Zhibin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
keywords: Carbon nanotubes; Composites; Crack; Piezoresistive; Silver nanoparticles; Strain sensors