Pressure-Responsive Conductive Poly(vinyl alcohol) Composites Containing Waste Cotton Fibers Biochar

The development of responsive composite materials is among the most interesting challenges in contemporary material science and technology. Nevertheless, the use of highly expensive nanostructured fillers has slowed down the spread of these smart materials in several key productive sectors. Here, we propose a new piezoresistive PVA composite containing a cheap, conductive, waste-derived, cotton biochar. We evaluated the electromagnetic properties of the composites under both AC and DC regimes and as a function of applied pressure, showing promisingly high conductivity values by using over 20 wt.% filler loading. We also measured the conductivity of the waste cotton biochar from 20 K up to 350 K observing, for the first time, hopping charge transport in biochar materials.