Title: Multifunctional Nonwovens Coated with Carbon Nanocomposites for Flexible Sensors – Measuring Tactile Pressures to Tons

Authors: Sagar M. Doshi

DOI:

Abstract: Pressure sensors are widely used across engineering sectors, from monitoring load transfer in structural assemblies to ensuring uniform consolidation pressures during composite manufacturing. As composite systems increasingly move toward intelligent and multifunctional capabilities, there is a growing need for sensing approaches that are lightweight, flexible, and compatible with fibrous material architectures. Conventional electronic pressure sensors are often rigid or difficult to integrate within nonwoven and textile-based composite systems. This work presents advances in transforming commercially available nonwoven fabrics into multifunctional, sensing-enabled materials by coating them with carbon-based nanocomposites using a scalable, water-based electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process. Aqueous EPD of functionalized carbon nanotubes onto aramid, polyester, and glass nonwovens produces conformal, micrometer-scale porous nanocomposite coatings that impart electrical conductivity while preserving the inherent compliance and porosity of the fabric. Deposition parameters such as applied electric field, deposition time, and nanotube concentration are used to tune coating morphology and electromechanical response, with processing approaches demonstrated at batch and pilot scales and compatible with continuous textile manufacturing workflows. The resulting nonwoven sensors exhibit a broad and continuous pressure sensing response spanning tactile loads (<1 kPa), vacuum and contact pressures (~100 kPa), and high pressures on the order of tens of megapascals. This ultrawide sensing range arises from multiscale sensing Copyright 2026. Used by the Society of the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering with permission.

References: 1. Mallick, P. K. Fiber-Reinforced Composites: Materials, Manufacturing, and Design. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420005981 2. Mouritz, A. P. Introduction to Aerospace Materials. Oxford: Woodhead Publishing. 3. Farrar, C. R., and K. Worden. “An Introduction to Structural Health Monitoring.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A 365, no. 1851 (2007): 303–315. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2006.1928 4. Someya, T., T. Sekitani, S. Iba, Y. Kato, H. Kawaguchi, and T. Sakurai. “A Large-Area, Flexible Pressure Sensor Matrix with Organic Field-Effect Transistors for Artificial Skin Applications.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101, no. 27 (2004): 9966–9970. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0401918101 5. Kang, I., M. J. Schulz, J. H. Kim, V. Shanov, and D. Shi. “A Carbon Nanotube Strain Sensor for Structural Health Monitoring.” Smart Materials and Structures 15, no. 3 (2006): 737748. https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/15/3/009 6. Lipomi, D. J., M. Vosgueritchian, B. C.-K. Tee, S. L. Hellstrom, J. A. Lee, C. H. Fox, and Z. Bao. “Skin-Like Pressure and Strain Sensors Based on Transparent Elastic Films of Carbon Nanotubes.” Nature Nanotechnology 6, no. 12 (2011): 788–792. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2011.184 7. Doshi, S. M., and E. T. Thostenson. “Thin and Flexible Carbon Nanotube-Based Pressure Sensors with Wide Dynamic Range.” ACS Sensors 3, no. 7 (2018): 1276–1282. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.8b00378 8. Lasater, K. L., and E. T. Thostenson. “In Situ Thermoresistive Characterization of Multifunctional Composites of Carbon Nanotubes.” Polymer 53, no. 23 (2012): 5367–5374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2012.09.022 9. Yao, H., J. Ge, C.-F. Wang, X. Wang, L. Hu, J. Zheng, Y. Ni, and S. H. Yu. “A Flexible and Highly Pressure-Sensitive Graphene–Polyurethane Sponge Based on Fractured Microstructure Design.” Advanced Materials 25, no. 46 (2013): 6692–6698. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201303041 10. Gojny, F. H., M. H. G. Wichmann, B. Fiedler, and K. Schulte. “Influence of Different Carbon Nanotubes on the Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Matrix Composites—A Comparative Study.” Composites Science and Technology 65, no. 15–16 (2005): 2300–2313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2005.04.021 11. Advani, S. G., and K.-T. Hsiao. Manufacturing Techniques for Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs). Oxford: Woodhead Publishing. ISBN: 978-0-85709-067-6 12. An, Q., A. N. Rider, and E. T. Thostenson. “Hierarchical Composite Structures Prepared by Electrophoretic Deposition of Carbon Nanotubes onto Glass Fibers.” Carbon 50, no. 11 (2012): 4130–4143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2012.04.061 13. De Volder, M. F. L., S. H. Tawfick, R. H. Baughman, and A. J. Hart. “Carbon Nanotubes: Present and Future Commercial Applications.” Science 339, no. 6119 (2013): 535–539. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1222453 14. Besra, L., and M. Liu. “A Review on Fundamentals and Applications of Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD).” Progress in Materials Science 52, no. 1 (2007): 1–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2006.07.001 15. An, Q., A. N. Rider, and E. T. Thostenson. “Electrophoretic Deposition of Carbon Nanotubes onto Fibers for Multifunctional Composite Materials.” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 5, no. 6 (2013): 2022–2032. https://doi.org/10.1021/am3028734 16. Doshi, S. M., C. Murray, A. Chaudhari, D. H. Sung, and E. T. Thostenson. “Ultrahigh Sensitivity Wearable Sensors Enabled by Electrophoretic Deposition of Carbon Nanostructured Composites onto Everyday Fabrics.” Journal of Materials Chemistry C 10, no. 5 (2022): 1617–1624. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TC05132F 17. Sung, D. H., S. M. Doshi, C. Murray, A. N. Rider, and E. T. Thostenson. “Electrophoretic Deposition: Novel In Situ Film Growth Mechanism of Carbon Nanocomposite Films Within Non-Conductive Fabrics for Multi-Scale Hybrid Composites.” Composites Science and Technology 200 (2020): 108415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2020.108415 18. Burch, K., S. Doshi, A. Chaudhari, E. Thostenson, and J. Higginson. “Estimating Ground Reaction Force with Novel Carbon Nanotube-Based Textile Insole Pressure Sensors.” Wearable Technologies 4 (2023): e8. https://doi.org/10.1017/wtc.2023.2

Conference: SAMPE 2026

Publication Date: 2026/04/27

SKU: 236

Pages: 15

Price: $30.00