Nanocomposite Fibrous Mats for Strain Sensing Applications

Electrospinning is a process to develop fibers with diameters at the nanometer range. Recently much interest has been generated in this technique due to the large number of potential applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and filtration. Our effort has been to produce nanocomposite fibers embedded with carbon nanotubes for for sensitive strain-sensing applications. Here, strategies to obtain unique morphologies (including core-sheath structures) of multi-wall carbon nanotube reinforced nanofibrous mats are discussed. The morphologies of these materials are characterized using electron microscopy. The mechanical properties (accounting for the porosity of the mat) and the electrical properties (including percolation behavior) are measured. Strain sensing capability is demonstrated.