High-stress study of bioinspired multifunctional PEDOT:PSS/nanoclay nanocomposites using AFM, SEM and numerical simulation

• Alfredo J. Diaz,
• Hanaul Noh,
• Tobias Meier and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2069–2082, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.207

• the AFM probe diameter. No pressure-induced changes in conductivity were observed in the clay-free polymer either. Keywords: biomimetics; conductive AFM; conductive nanocomposites; contact-resonance force microscopy; multifrequency AFM; transparent coatings; Introduction Bioinspired material designs

• sensing humidity [21] and for temperature-dependent switching of electrochemical behavior using nanoclay substitutes [22]. Recently, nacre-mimetic electrically conductive nanocomposites have been reported, one of which exhibited good electrical conductivity and excellent mechanical properties [23] and the

• other of which demonstrated feasibility as an electrode [24]. The multifunctionality of the brick-and-mortar structure is an important advantage compared to other architectures, for electrically conductive nanocomposites. For example, a recently developed piezoelectric sensor exploited the PVDF/nanoclay