Investigating the impact of interfacial decohesion on the piezoresistive properties of graphene/polymer nanocomposites through a multiscale analysis.
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A multiscale strategy is proposed for investigating the impact of interfacial decohesion on the piezoresistive properties of graphene/polymer nanocomposites. The piezoresistive effect refers to a change in electrical resistivity when mechanical strain is applied. Initially, a cohesive zone model is established through atomistic simulations. This cohesive zone model incorporates imperfect interfaces, representing graphene sheets, at the mesoscale within our continuum mechanical model. The resulting nonlinear mechanical model is employed to generate deformed representative volume elements, allowing for the exploration of the influence of strain and interfacial decohesion on the conductivity of graphene/polymer nanocomposites. The effective conductivity is examined using an electric continuum model at the mesoscale, which accounts for the tunneling effect. A conductor-insulator transition is observed for elongations exceeding 2% for a graphene volume fraction just above the percolation threshold. Notably, this transition is delayed to 8% elongation when interfacial decohesion is disregarded, contrasting with the expected 2%.
