Electrical impedance analysis of carbon nanotube/epoxy nanocomposite-based piezoresistive strain sensors under uniaxial cyclic static tensile loading

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes-based nanocomposites have gained a great amount of attraction and play a key role in the realization of strain sensors owing to their remarkable physical properties. In this study, the piezoresistivity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/epoxy-based nanocomposite-based strain sensor under static tensile load is examined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Morphological examinations show that MWCNTs are randomly and homogeneously distributed in the epoxy polymer matrix. A simplified resistance constant phase element model is proposed and validated by impedance spectrum to fit the impedance spectra and the equivalent circuit parameters are extracted under uniaxial static load. Impedance results suggest that depending on the frequency regions, the sensor exhibits different responses under loading. Moreover, the proposed sensor gives high sensitivity, linearity and low hysteresis under cyclic quasi-static loading and unloading that makes the sensor a promising candidate for practical strain sensor applications.