Piezoresistivity, Strain, and Damage Self-Sensing of Polymer Composites Filled with Carbon Nanostructures

Previous and current research on piezoresistivity of polymer composites filled with carbon nanostructures is reviewed. The review covers the use of the coupled electro-mechanical response of these materials to self-sense their strain and damage during mechanical loading. The mechanisms yielding changes in electrical resistance upon mechanical loading in polymer composites filled with carbon nanostructures are first discussed. Published knowledge is then summarized, starting with framework literature on carbon black and graphite and then moving to more recent research on carbon nanotubes, exfoliated graphite, and few-layer graphene sheets. Piezoresistive studies of polymer nanocomposites with aligned carbon fillers are also reviewed. It is aimed that this review contributes in collecting, organizing, and summarizing the knowledge, foundations, and state of the art on the piezoresistive response of polymer composites filled with different carbon allotropes, providing new perspectives and advancing towards the fast development of smart self-sensing carbon filled nanocomposites.