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We have designed and integrated a novel fibre-optic based sensor for force discrimination on a biomimetic finger.[...]

In this study, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) fibres containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and fabricated viaan extrusion process were demonstrated to possess a tuneable level of electrical conductivity. A simple approach based on the time–temperature superposition applied to the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube (CNT) percolating in a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) melt was also developed to predict the conductivity of the nanocomposite fibres. The observation of Arrhenius dependence of zero-shear viscosity and the assumption of simple inverse proportionality between the variation of conductivity, due to network formation, and viscosity allow a universal plot of time variation of conductivity to be composed, which is able to predict the conductivity of the extruded fibres. The same TPU/CNT fibres were also demonstrated to possess good strain sensing abilities, which makes them good candidates for applications in smart textiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structures of carbon nanotube/ligand complexes were studied by flow linear dichroism (the differential absorption of light polarized parallel and perpendicular to the flow orientation direction) with the aim of establishing linear dichroism as a technique to study such systems. Anthracene, naphthalene, and DNA were chosen as ligands, and the potential for flow linear dichroism to probe ligands noncovalently (as well as covalently) bound to single-walled nanotubes is reported. Linear dichroism enables the determination of approximate orientations of the ligands on the carbon nanotubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]