This paper describes a standard replication approach for preparing transparent elastomeric conductors with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) inlaid just below the surface. The elastic conductors were fabricated by spray coating a SWCNT suspension in chloroform on a fluorinated substrate, followed by the standard replication, casting liquid elastomers like polydimethylsiloxane on the SWCNT film, curing and peeling off the substrate. The replication strategy can produce elastic conductors with a flat or a desirable patterned surface. The resultant elastic conductors had excellent stability under repeated mechanical loading and stretchability up to 300%. It retained conductance even after 10 tape tests. Using the SWCNT-inlaid stretchable conductors as electrodes, elastic capacitors were fabricated using a mask-assisted method. The results showed that these capacitors are good candidates for multifunctional capacitive pressure, strain, and touch sensors.

The aging behavior of a eutectic mixture of bis (2,2-dinitropropyl) acetal and formal [called NP here] has been studied in various atmospheres [dry (air or nitrogen) versus wet] at temperatures 70°C and below. The properties of aged samples were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Karl Fischer (KF) titration, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) over a period of three years. The results indicate that at aging temperatures up to 55°C, the initial rates of water production from nitrous acid (HONO) formation and decomposition into the water, NO, and NO 2 follows a 1 st order rate law and the rate constants follow an Arrhenius law as a function of temperature. The activation energies and pre-factors for water and volatiles production yield a single linear kinetic compensation plot, suggesting a common degradation pathway between NP and the various combinations of its constituents. Within a narrow temperature range, around 55°C, a trace amount of water in NP stabilizes its properties by preventing HONO elimination. When the aging temperature is substantially higher than 55°C, the nature of the degradation mechanism changes. It is suspected that the degradation products of NO x , water, and HNO 3 serve as catalysts to auto-catalyze (kinetics beyond the 1 st order) and further degrade NP. The effect of headspace volume on this auto-catalytic process will be discussed.

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