Pressure-sensitive properties of emulsion modified graphene nanoplatelets/cement composites

Graphene nanoplatelets(GNP)/cement composites were prepared using three types of GNP with different structures. In order to investigate the effects of GNP and styrene-acrylate emulsion on properties of GNP/cement composites, GNP with different addition (0-2.0 wt%) and styrene-acrylate emulsion (10 wt%) were mixed into cement through the method of mechanical stirring. Electrical performance and the pressure-sensitive property of GNP/cement composites were studied. The results showed that the addition of GNP to cement would lead to a significant drop of resistivity and make composites manifest pressure sensitivity. In addition, the structure (C/O atomic ratio) of GNP greatly affected the properties of the GNP/cement composites. A distinct enhancement in pressure sensitivity was found when emulsion was added to GNP/cement composites. The gauge factor of emulsion modified GNP/cement composites reached a peak value of 7.783, which was 1 order of magnitude higher than composites without emulsion. This work offered a new opportunity to make use of traditional cement materials combining with GNP.