Relation between repeated uniaxial compressive pressure and electrical resistance of carbon nanotube filled silicone rubber composite

Carbon nanotube filled polymer composite can be used as sensitive material of flexible pressure sensor. By using solution mixing method, carbon nanotubes are dispersed into silicone rubber matrix to fabricate the composite. The piezoresistivities of the composite with different carbon nanotube concentrations under repeated compressions are researched quantitatively. The monotonicity of the piezoresistivity is dependent on the content of carbon nanotube and the range of the applied pressure. The reproducibility error of the piezoresistivity decreases with the increase of the compression cycles. The experimental data of the piezoresistivity are fitted by the linear combination of two exponential functions. The piezoresistive mechanism is studied qualitatively by analyzing the changes in the carbon nanotube network. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.