Flexible Temperature Sensor Utilizing MWCNT Doped PEG-PU Copolymer Nanocomposites

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Flexible temperature sensors are crucial for bio-robotic and healthcare applications.
• Developing cost-effective and reliable temperature sensing materials remains a challenge.
• Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyurethane (PU) offer potential for flexible sensor development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize PEG-PU based shape-stabilized copolymer nanocomposites.
• To investigate the thermoresistive properties of these nanocomposites for temperature sensing.
• To compare the performance of physically mixed versus chemically crosslinked nanocomposites.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of PEG-PU copolymer nanocomposites with varying multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) concentrations (2-10 wt.%).
• Fabrication of temperature sensors by spin coating nanocomposites onto screen-printed interdigitated electrodes (IDT).
• Characterization using XRD, FTIR, and DSC to analyze structural, thermal, and phase transition properties.

Main Results:

• Chemically crosslinked MWCNT-PEG-PU nanocomposites exhibited superior thermosensitive behavior compared to physically mixed counterparts.
• Optimized MWCNT loading enhanced conductivity and thermoresistive properties within the 25 °C to 50 °C range.
• The developed flexible temperature sensors demonstrated high sensitivity and reliability.

Conclusions:

• Chemically crosslinked PEG-PU/MWCNT nanocomposites are effective for low-cost, flexible temperature sensing.
• These sensors show significant promise for advanced bio-robotic and healthcare applications.
• The study highlights the potential of tailored nanocomposite design for specialized sensing.