Multifunctional flexible and stretchable graphite-silicone rubber composites

The demand for stretchable, soft and wearable multifunctional devices based on conductive polymer composites is rapidly growing because of their compelling applications, including physical and physiological measurements on the human body. This paper reports a simple and cost-effective technique to fabricate electrically conductive flexible films with graphite (GRP) flakes and an elastomer, silicone rubber (SR). The mechanical, thermal, electromechanical and electrothermal characterisations of the composites were conducted. While the dynamic electromechanical response of the composites demonstrated their potential applications as wearable sensors, the electrothermal characteristics of the devices showed their suitability to be used as flexible protective circuits and flexible temperature sensors. The synergistic effect of GRP flakes with carbon black (CB) particles was also studied. GRP-SR composites showed a thermal conductivity (TC) of 1.08 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ and were thermally stable up to up to 300 °C. The good TC and thermal stability along with their deformability, make them suitable to be used as thermal interface devices in arbitrarily shaped surfaces.