Potential of carbonaceous materials for the realization of high performance sensors

Abstract

Nanocomposites films based on carbonaceous materials and polymers provide an innovative approach for the realization of scalable flexible sensors with a high performance and low manufacturing costs. The realized sensors can overcome several limitations of conventional sensors and provide decisive advantages, e.g. adjustable measurement range, high sensitivity, high robustness, flexibility and scalability. Some of these aspects will be exemplary discussed for sensors based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and Graphene oxide (GO) for measurement quantities including temperature, humidity, strain and pressure. The carbonaceous materials and polymers sensors are highly attractive for applications in the fields of structural health monitoring (SHM), robotics, medical diagnostics, IoT and environmental monitoring. They can be realized at relatively low costs even if produced in a small number and can be easily integrated in different structures.