Lightweight Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate Copolymer/Low-density Polyethylene/Carbon Nanotube Foams via Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Foaming for Piezoresistive Sensors
摘要
Flexible polymer-based foam sensors have significant potential for application in wearable electronics and motion monitoring. However, these prospects are hindered by the complex and unenvironmentally friendly manufacturing processes. In this study, we employed melt blending and supercritical carbon dioxide foaming to fabricate an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)/low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/carbon nanotube (CNT) piezoresistive foam sensor. The cross-linking agent bis(tert-butyldioxyisopropyl) benzene and the conductive filler CNT were incorporated into the EVA/LDPE composite, successfully achieving a chemically cross-linked and physically entangled composite structure that significantly enhanced the storage modulus and complex viscosity. Additionally, the compressive strength of EVA/LDPE/CNT foam with 10 parts per hundred rubber (phr) CNT reached 1.37 MPa at 50% compression, marking a 340% increase compared to the 0.31 MPa of the CNT-free sample. Furthermore, the EVA/LDPE/CNT composite foams, which incorporated 10 phr CNT, were prepared under specific foaming conditions, resulting in an ultra-low density of 0.11 g/cm3 and a higher sensitivity, with a gauge factor of −2.3. The piezoresistive foam sensors developed in this work could accurately detect human motion, thereby expanding their applications in the field of piezoresistive foam sensors and providing an effective strategy for the advancement of high-performance piezoresistive foam sensors.