Abstract
As mankind continues to extend technological boundaries, sensors must be improved in order to keep pace. The current problem that engineers and scientists face is how to actively monitor structures for damage. One possible method is to embed a triboluminescent material into a composite structure. Nearby sensors would monitor these structures for structural failure or impacts. This paper reports on recently completed research that incorporated the strongly triboluminescent europium dibenzoylmethide triethylammonium (europium tetrakis) into a selection of polymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate). Additional work was completed to determine if europium tetrakis could be mixed with Cytoseal 60 and 280 to form a durable triboluminescent polymer for small-area sensors. Using a custom-built drop tower, the triboluminescent light yield and decay times was measured for the newly created triboluminescent polymers.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded in part by NASA Alabama Space Grant Consortium fellowship under Training Grant NNX10AJ80H, NSF-RISE Project HRD 0927644, and other grants from the State of Louisiana and Federal agencies. One of the authors (MDA) thanks UNCF special programs corporation for the NASA Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) research cluster project for their support.
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Fontenot, R., Hollerman, W., Bhat, K. et al. Incorporating strongly triboluminescent europium dibenzoylmethide triethylammonium into simple polymers. Polym J 46, 111–116 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2013.78
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2013.78
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