%0 Journal Article
%A Zhang, P.
%A Bousack, Herbert
%A Dai, Y.
%A Offenhäusser, A.
%A Mayer, D.
%T Shell-binary nanoparticle materials with variable electrical and electro-mechanical properties
%J Nanoscale
%V 10
%N 3
%@ 2040-3372
%C Cambridge
%I RSC Publ.
%M FZJ-2018-00819
%P 992 - 1003
%D 2018
%X Nanoparticle (NP) materials with the capability to adjust their electrical and electro-mechanical properties facilitate applications in strain sensing technology. Traditional NP materials based on single component NPs lack a systematic and effective means of tuning their electrical and electro-mechanical properties. Here, we report on a new type of shell-binary NP material fabricated by self-assembly with either homogeneous or heterogeneous arrangements of NPs. Variable electrical and electro-mechanical properties were obtained for both materials. We show that the electrical and electro-mechanical properties of these shell-binary NP materials are highly tunable and strongly affected by the NP species as well as their corresponding volume fraction ratio. The conductivity and the gauge factor of these shell-binary NP materials can be altered by about five and two orders of magnitude, respectively. These shell-binary NP materials with different arrangements of NPs also demonstrate different volume fraction dependent electro-mechanical properties. The shell-binary NP materials with a heterogeneous arrangement of NPs exhibit a peaking of the sensitivity at medium mixing ratios, which arises from the aggregation induced local strain enhancement. Studies on the electron transport regimes and micro-morphologies of these shell-binary NP materials revealed the different mechanisms accounting for the variable electrical and electro-mechanical properties. A model based on effective medium theory is used to describe the electrical and electro-mechanical properties of such shell-binary nanomaterials and shows an excellent match with experiment data. These shell-binary NP materials possess great potential applications in high-performance strain sensing technology due to their variable electrical and electro-mechanical properties.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%$ pmid:29265122
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000423259000013
%R 10.1039/C7NR07912E
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/842606