Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2016
We are reporting the formation of free-standing graphene foam (GF) via a noveltwo-step process, in which a polyurethane (PU) foam is first dip-coated withgraphene oxide (GO) and subsequently the dried GO-coated-PU is heated innitrogen atmosphere at 1000°C. During the pyrolysis of theGO-coated-PU, GO is reduced to GF whereas PU is simultaneously decomposed andreleased completely as volatiles in a step wise mass-loss mechanism. Morphologyof the formed GF conforms to that of the pure PU foam as indicated by thescanning electronic micrographs. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was successfullyinfiltrated inside the GF to form flexible and stretch-able conductors. TheGF-PDMS composite was tested for it’s pressure and strain sensingcapabilities. It is shown that a 30% compressive strain changes resistance ofthe GF-PDMS composite to about 800% of it’s original value. Sincedensity of the formed GF is tunable, therefore, the pressure/strain sensivity ofthe GF-PDMS composite is also tunable.