Monitoring the glass transition temperature of polymeric composites with carbon nanotube buckypaper sensor

Carbon nanotube (CNT) Buckypapers can be infused with resin and easily incorporated into conventional fiber reinforced composites. In this paper, we propose to use Buckypaper (BP) as a new measuring method to determine the glass transition temperature of polymeric composites. The CNT-only BP was fabricated by spray-vacuum filtration method with monodispersion of multi-wall carbon nanotubes, and then co-cured with polymeric composites. After manufacturing, the glass transition temperature of polymeric composites could be obtained from the relationship between resistance and temperature of BP during the dynamic heating process. Experimental results show that the glass transition temperature of composite samples A and B monitored by BP sensors were 127 °C and 180 °C, while such temperatures obtained from a dynamical mechanical analyzer (DMA) were 128 °C and 184 °C respectively. This paper not only reveals the ability of BP as a sensor for monitoring the glass transition temperature of composite but also provides a new way to understand the glass transition phenomenon of composite.