The urgent need for ecofriendly, stable, long-lifetime power sources is driving the booming market for miniaturized and integrated electronics, including wearable and medical implantable devices. Flexible thermoelectric materials and devices are receiving increasing attention, due to their capability to convert heat into electricity directly by conformably attaching them onto heat sources. Polymer-based flexible thermoelectric materials are particularly fascinating because of their intrinsic flexibility, affordability, and low toxicity. There are other promising alternatives including inorganic-based flexible thermoelectrics that have high energy-conversion efficiency, large power output, and stability at relatively high temperature. Herein, the state-of-the-art in the development of flexible thermoelectric materials and devices is summarized, including exploring the fundamentals behind the performance of flexible thermoelectric materials and devices by relating materials chemistry and physics to properties. By taking insights from carrier and phonon transport, the limitations of high-performance flexible thermoelectric materials and the underlying mechanisms associated with each optimization strategy are highlighted. Finally, the remaining challenges in flexible thermoelectric materials are discussed in conclusion, and suggestions and a framework to guide future development are provided, which may pave the way for a bright future for flexible thermoelectric devices in the energy market.

Flexible Thermoelectric Materials and Generators: Challenges and Innovations.

The rapid development of wearable smart devices has contributed to the enormous demands for smart flexible strain sensors. However, to date, the poor stretchability and sensitivity of conventional metals or inorganic semiconductor-based strain sensors have restricted their application in this field to some extent, and hence many efforts have been devoted to find suitable candidates to overcome these limitations. Recently, novel resistive-type electrically conductive polymer composites (ECPCs)-based strain sensors have attracted attention based on their merits of light weight, flexibility, stretchability, and easy processing, thus showing great potential applications in the fields of human movement detection, artificial muscles, human–machine interfaces, soft robotic skin, etc. For ECPCs-based strain sensors, the conductive filler type and the phase morphology design have important influences on the sensing property. Meanwhile, to achieve a successful application toward wearable devices, several imperative features, including a self-healing capability, superhydrophobicity, and good light transmission, need to be considered. The aim of the present review is to critically review the progress of ECPCs-based strain sensors and to foresee their future development.

Electrically conductive polymer composites for smart flexible strain sensors: a critical review

Applications of Percolation Theory

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the packaging industry

The high strength to weight ratio of carbon fiber has made it as an attractive energy-saving material over the conventional strength-bearing materials like steel. Realizing the trend, the high-weight steel is being progressively replaced by the low-weight and corrosion-resistant carbon fiber composites in many strength applications. The carbon fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composite (PMC) have thereby become forefront material in aerospace, automobile, sporting goods, and other applications which demand high strength and high modulus. Moreover, the gradual reduction of its cost curtsy to the extensive research in the field of carbon fiber technology in recent years has been opened its market in different construction applications. This review is the discussion of carbon fiber loaded a variety of polymer matrix composites where the structural importance of these composites has been emphasized. The objective of this discussion is to provide information on the whole spectrum of carbon fiber-based polymeric composites. It also includes brief discussion about preparation and properties of carbon fibers along with processing, fabrication, and structural applications of these carbon fiber-based polymer composites.

Preparation, development, outcomes, and application versatility of carbon fiber-based polymer composites: a review

A flexible, biocompatible, nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)-based strain sensor with high stretchability, good sensitivity, and excellent repeatability is presented for the first time. Carbon black (CB) particles were embedded into an NBR matrix via a dissolving-coating technique, and the obtained NBR/CB composite was coated with polydopamine (PDA) to preserve the CB layer. The mechanical properties of the NBR films were found to be significantly improved with the addition of CB and PDA, and the produced composite films were noncytotoxic and highly biocompatible. Strain-sensing tests showed that the uncoated CB/NBR films possess a high sensing range (strain of ∼550%) and good sensitivity (gauge factor of 52.2), whereas the PDA/NBR/CB films show a somewhat reduced sensing range (strain of ∼180%) but significantly improved sensitivity (gauge factor of 346). The hysteresis curves obtained from cyclic strain-sensing tests demonstrate the prominent robustness of the sensor material. Three novel equations were developed to accurately describe the uniaxial and cyclic strain-sensing behavior observed for the investigated strain sensors. Gloves and knee/elbow covers were produced from the films, revealing that the signals generated by different finger, elbow, and knee movements are easily distinguishable, thus confirming that the PDA/NBR/CB composite films can be used in a wide range of wearable strain sensor applications.

Biocompatible, Flexible Strain Sensor Fabricated with Polydopamine-Coated Nanocomposites of Nitrile Rubber and Carbon Black.

An outstanding antichlorine and antibacterial membrane with quaternary ammonium salts of alkenes via in situ polymerization for textile wastewater treatment

Hydrothermally synthesized ZnO-RGO-PPy for water-borne epoxy nanocomposite coating with anticorrosive reinforcement

High sensitive electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane/carbon nanotubes strain sensor fitting by a novel optimization empirical model

The electrical conductivity of extruded carbon fiber (CF)/Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) composites with controlled CF aspect ratio and filler fractions ranging from 0 to 50 vol. % has been investigated and analyzed. The composites were extruded through a capillary rheometer, utilizing either 1-mm or 3-mm diameter extrusion dies, resulting in cylindrical composite filaments of two different diameters. Since the average CF orientation becomes more aligned with the extrusion flow when the diameter of the extrusion dies decreases, the relationship between conductivity and average fiber orientation could therefore be examined. The room temperature conductivities of the extruded filaments as a function of CF fractions were fitted to the McLachlan general effective medium (GEM) equation and the percolation thresholds were determined to 20.0 ± 2.5 vol. % and 32.0 ± 5.9 vol. % for the 3-mm (with CFs oriented less) and 1-mm (with CFs oriented more) filaments, respectively. It turned out that the oriented CFs in the composite shift the percolation threshold to a higher value, however, the conductivity above the percolation threshold is higher for composites with oriented CFs. A novel approach based on the Balberg excluded volume theory was proposed to explain this counterintuitive phenomenon.

Effect of Filler Orientation on the Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Fiber/PMMA Composites

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