title: Temperature-dependent piezoresistivity in an MWCNT/epoxy nanocomposite temperature sensor with ultrahigh performance.
abstract: A temperature sensor was fabricated from a polymer nanocomposite with multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) as nanofiller (i.e., MWCNT/epoxy). The electrical resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the temperature sensor were characterized experimentally. The effects of temperature (within the range 333-373 K) and MWCNT content (within the range 1-5 wt%) were investigated thoroughly. It was found that the resistance increases with increasing temperature and decreasing MWCNT content. However, the resistance change ratio related to the TCR increases with increasing temperature and MWCNT content. The highest value of TCR (0.021 K(-1)), which was observed in the case of 5 wt% MWCNT, is much higher than those of traditional metals and MWCNT-based temperature sensors. Moreover, the corresponding numerical simulation-conducted to explain the above temperature-dependent piezoresistivity of the nanocomposite temperature sensor-indicated the key role of a temperature-dependent tunneling effect.
authors.affiliation: College of Material Science and Art Design, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 306 Zhaowuda Road, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010018, People's Republic of China.
authors.lastname: Alamusi
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Liangke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Weifeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Xianghe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Christiana
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Yaolu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Huiming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.forename: Jinhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.lastname: Surina
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Atobe
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukunaga