Skoltech scientists, in collaboration with colleagues from China and Iran, have taken a major step toward creating highly precise carbon nanotube fibre (CNTF)-based sensors. In a recent paper published in the iScience journal, the authors, for the first time, quantitatively assessed the accuracy of CNTF sensors for dual-stage, i.e., manufacturing and post-manufacturing monitoring of epoxy-based polymer nanocomposites with dispersed CNTs. The researchers emphasize that this development paves the way for creating a cutting-edge carbon-based material for high-precision and real-time sensing applications.
Existing monitoring sensors, such as fibre optics or piezoelectric sensors, are not suitable for the dual-stage monitoring of polymer composite materials. Additionally, embedding them into the composite structure often leads to deterioration in the mechanical properties of ready-made materials, making it more vulnerable to failure.
“This discovery elevates CNTFs from being merely promising materials to ready-to-use, high-precision sensors. Thus, we can not only monitor the curing process of the polymer matrix but also subsequently measure the properties of the ready-made composite,” commented the first author of the paper, Sergei Shadrov, a Skoltech PhD student from the Materials Science and Engineering program.
“The crux of the work was to qualitatively evaluate the fidelity of CNTF-based sensors for the dual-stage monitoring of epoxy-based nanocomposites. For comparison, commercially available sensors have an error margin starting from 2%. However, in the case of CNTFs, the maximum measurement error is 0.1% (in a worst-case scenario),” added Assistant Professor Hassaan Ahmad Butt from the Skoltech Photonics Center’s Laboratory of Nanomaterials, a co-author of the research.
It was shown that CNTF-based sensors enable high-precision measurements using a standard two-point method, eliminating the need for the more complex four-point technique. This simplification reduces equipment requirements, lowers costs, and makes the technology easier to implement in industrial applications.
“The high accuracy is attributed to the unique morphological structure of CNTFs, which enables direct electrical contact between the fiber surface and the conductive CNT network within the polymer matrix. This direct interaction effectively eliminates contact resistance, significantly improving measurement precision,” commented Professor Albert Nasibulin, director of the Skoltech Photonics Center and head of Laboratory of Nanomaterials.
