Issue 8, 2018

A well-organized graphene nanostructure for versatile strain-sensing application constructed by a covalently bonded graphene/rubber interface

Abstract

Graphene/rubber nanocomposites have attracted increasing attention for their fantastic applications in varied wearable electronics. However, the mechanical and functional properties of graphene/rubber nanocomposites are often limited by their weak interfacial interactions, such as ionic and hydrogen bonding. Here, we propose a covalently bonded graphene/rubber nanocomposite with a well-organized graphene nanostructure for versatile strain-sensing applications. Briefly, biological phytic acid was chosen as a covalent-bonding bridge to co-crosslink graphene oxide nanosheets and epoxidized natural rubber chains via the ring-opening reaction of epoxy groups. Benefiting from the covalently bonded interface, the obtained nanocomposite exhibited dramatically enhanced mechanical properties. Compared with the sulfur-cured sample, the tensile strength and elongation at break increased by 67.43% and 116.55%, respectively. Moreover, the covalent linkage facilitates the formation of a well-organized graphene network, which remarkably enhances the sensitivity and stability of the as-prepared strain sensors. The resultant sensors can monitor both large-scale and tiny human motion and exhibit great potential in the application of sign language recognition. This covalently bonded graphene/rubber interface opens the door to tailored design and low-cost fabrication of well-organized graphene nanostructures for multifunctional applications in electronic sensors, electromagnetic shielding materials, actuators for artificial muscles, etc.

Graphical abstract: A well-organized graphene nanostructure for versatile strain-sensing application constructed by a covalently bonded graphene/rubber interface

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 dek 2017
Accepted
26 yan 2018
First published
26 yan 2018

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018,6, 2139-2147

A well-organized graphene nanostructure for versatile strain-sensing application constructed by a covalently bonded graphene/rubber interface

Q. Guo, Y. Luo, J. Liu, X. Zhang and C. Lu, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018, 6, 2139 DOI: 10.1039/C7TC05758J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements