

FOLLOWUS
a.Key Laboratory of Processing and Application of Polymeric Foams of China National Light Industry Council, School of Light Industry Science and Engineering, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
b.School of Computer and Artificial Intelligence, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China
zhouhongfu@th.btbu.edu.cn (H.F.Z.)
dengyafeng@th.btbu.edu.cn (Y.F. D.)
Received:14 February 2025,
Revised:2025-03-18,
Accepted:20 March 2025,
Online First:29 April 2025,
Published:01 July 2025
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Hou, H. H.; He, X.; Ma, H.; Zhou, H. F.; Wen, B. Y.; Wang, X. D.; Deng, Y. F. Lightweight ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer/low-density polyethylene/carbon nanotube foams via supercritical carbon dioxide foaming for piezoresistive sensors. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 1208–1221
Hao-Hao Hou, Xin He, Hui Ma, et al. Lightweight Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate Copolymer/Low-density Polyethylene/Carbon Nanotube Foams
Hou, H. H.; He, X.; Ma, H.; Zhou, H. F.; Wen, B. Y.; Wang, X. D.; Deng, Y. F. Lightweight ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer/low-density polyethylene/carbon nanotube foams via supercritical carbon dioxide foaming for piezoresistive sensors. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 1208–1221 DOI: 10.1007/s10118-025-3343-5.
Hao-Hao Hou, Xin He, Hui Ma, et al. Lightweight Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate Copolymer/Low-density Polyethylene/Carbon Nanotube Foams
In EVA/LDPE composites
the crosslinking agent BIBP and conductive filler CNT were introduced to construct a composite structure combining chemical crosslinking and physical entanglement. Coupled with supercritical CO
2
foaming technology
the piezoresistive sensing performance of the foam was significantly enhanced.
Flexible polymer-based foam sensors have significant potential for application in wearable electronics and motion monitoring. However
these prospects are hindered by the complex and unenvironmentally friendly manufacturing processes. In this study
we employed melt blending and supercritical carbon dioxide foaming to fabricate an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)/low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/carbon nanotube (CNT) piezoresistive foam sensor. The cross-linking agent bis(tert-butyldioxyisopropyl) benzene and the conductive filler CNT were incorporated into the EVA/LDPE composite
successfully achieving a chemically cross-linked and physically entangled composite structure that significantly enhanced the storage modulus and complex viscosity. Additionally
the compressive strength of EVA/LDPE/CNT foam with 10 parts per hundred rubber (phr) CNT reached 1.37 MPa at 50% compression
marking a 340% increase compared to the 0.31 MPa of the CNT-free sample. Furthermore
the EVA/LDPE/CNT composite foams
which incorporated 10 phr CNT
were prepared under specific foaming conditions
resulting in an ultra-low density of 0.11 g/cm
3
and a higher sensitivity
with a gauge factor of –2.3. The piezoresistive foam sensors developed in this work could accurately detect human motion
thereby expanding their applications in the field of piezoresistive foam sensors and providing an effective strategy for the advancement of high-performance piezoresistive foam sensors.
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