Experimental study of graphene and carbon nanotubes thermal sensing properties

Today there are several new and interesting Nano-particle materials on the market providing good electrical conductivity. Examples are carbon Nano-tubes and different versions of graphene derivatives, often provided as powder. In particular, the materials available were Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Epoxy matrix and Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGOH). An initial literature survey underlined the lack of measurements and information about the conductivity of these materials during heating up or curing. This work is part of a larger project aiming at producing ”sensing structural composite material”, i.e. a composite material with integrated Nanoparticles, as eg. Carbonnano-tubes or graphene, working as sensors reporting the status of the material during heating up, curing and/or tensioning. The principal results concerns the evaluation of the specific conductivity during heating for both materials (rGOH and MWCNT in Epoxy Matrix) with the realization of an experimental model for the gradient of the specific conductivity with temperature. The linearity underlines the possibility of using the properties of these materials to create sensors, not only for strain (with the advantage of high Gauge Factors), but also for temperature.