Study of ink paper sensor based on aluminum/carbon nanotubes agglomerated nanocomposites

Agglomerated nanocomposites based on Aluminum/Carbon Nanotubes (AI/CNT) were produced by an arc discharge technique under argon/acetone atmosphere and ultrasonically dispersed in distilled water to form an ink-like composite. This ink was spread onto commercial paper to produce a conductive thick film. Experimental results show that the electrical resistance of Al/CNT nanocomposite on paper changes when a mechanical stress and/or heat is applied. The multi-sensory properties obtained are the following: (i) piezoresistive effect, electrical resistance shows linear dependence with pressure intensity at room temperature; (ii) polynomial relationship between electrical resistance and temperature; and (iii) high accuracy thermal sensor compared to a K type thermocouple at 25 degrees C. The nanocomposite and paper morphology was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM/EDS) and a favorable surface for physisorption was observed. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) was utilized for Al/CNT agglomerated indicating that the ink paper based on nanocomposite shows good performance as a thermo-piezoresistive sensor.