Alumina fiber/reduced graphene oxide composite films for high-temperature heating and sensing

Abstract

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and its composite films have aroused intense interest in electrical heating and temperature sensing fields, but the working temperature is usually limited because the internal layer-stacked structure is breakable at high temperature. In order to promote structure stability, a series of Al2O3 fiber/rGO composite films were developed. It is found that gaseous products mainly including CO2 and CO during thermal reduction contribute to pores, bulges and intervals in rGO films, while appropriate Al2O3 fiber has an adhesion effect on rGO sheets and tightens them together, in which case defects can hardly form and the layered structure is significantly compacted. Therefore, the degree of stacking order and tensile strength tend to increase, resulting in the improvement of structure stability and decrease of electrical resistivity. However, excess Al2O3 fiber makes the formation of debris and cracks, causing the deterioration of conductivity and mechanical properties. With 20 wt% Al2O3 fiber, the composite films can bear higher heating voltage than pure rGO films and stabilize at 634.65 °C under 36 V, which also keep a good linearity between resistance and temperature from 25 to 600 °C, exhibiting a considerable temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) with −1.70×10−3 /°C at room temperature.