Carbon nanotube—cuprous oxide composite based pressure sensors

In this paper, we present the design, the fabrication, and the experimental results of carbon nanotube (CNT) and Cu2O composite based pressure sensors. The pressed tablets of the CNT—Cu2O composite are fabricated at a pressure of 353 MPa. The diameters of the multiwalled nanotubes (MWNTs) are between 10 nm and 30 nm. The sizes of the Cu2O micro particles are in the range of 3–4 μm. The average diameter and the average thickness of the pressed tablets are 10 mm and 4.0 mm, respectively. In order to make low resistance electric contacts, the two sides of the pressed tablet are covered by silver pastes. The direct current resistance of the pressure sensor decreases by 3.3 times as the pressure increases up to 37 kN/m2. The simulation result of the resistance—pressure relationship is in good agreement with the experimental result within a variation of ±2%.