fabrication of a cost-effective piezoresistive pressure sensor based on pvc/reduced graphene oxide (rgo) composite

In this research, a cost-effective piezoresistive sensor based on polyvinyl chloride/reduced graphene oxide (pvc/rgo) was fabricated and its performance was investigated. composites were prepared by adding 0.1-30 wt% of rgo to the pvc matrix followed by solution casting. the plot of electrical conduction-concentration was constructed to obtain the percolation threshold concentration. it was found that the percolation threshold of reduced graphene oxide leading to a continuous stable electrical conductivity in pvc matrix is about 25% beyond which electrical resistance was reduced from some 800 gω to lower than 100 kω range. the relative change in electrical resistance of prepared polymer parts as a result of pressure (stress), strain, torsion and low strength impact was studied. the results showed that the fabricated composite can be used for sensing and/or monitoring and measurement of any mechanical displacement with high sensitivity, promising reproducibility and satisfactory durability. it must be mentioned that, during impact tests of polymer composites, a small piezoelectric effect was also observed for which further complementary studies are being planned to be performed in near future in order to better understand this effect and its underlying molecular basis.