Investigation of temperature effect on the electrical properties of MWCNTs/epoxy nanocomposites by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of the temperature exposure on the electrical properties of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/epoxy based nanocomposites for the temperature range from 20 degrees C to 80 degrees C. The impedance response of the nanocomposites up to 1 wt.% MWCNTs concentrations is investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for the frequency range from 100 Hz to 110 MHz. Temperature investigations show that MWCNTs/epoxy nanocomposites for all MWCNTs concentrations give negative temperature coefficient response due to thermal activation of charge carriers, and the temperature sensitivity increases with the increase of filler concentration. Moreover, it is also found out that substrate type causes different responses due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion and rheologies of the substrates.