Abstract
-
The use of capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C
4
D) for the characterisation of thin
conductive graphene
fi
bres, graphene composite
fi
bres, and graphene coated
fi
brous materials is demon-
strated for the
fi
rst time. Within a few seconds, the non-destructive C
4
D detector provides a pro
fi
le of the
longetudinal physical homogeneity of the
fi
bre, as well as extra information regarding
fi
bre mophology
and composition. In addition to the theoretical considerations related to the factors a
ff
ect the output
signal, this work evaluates the properties of graphene
fi
bres using scanning C
4
D following the manufac-
turing process of wet-spinning. Furthermore, conductive graphene-coated
fi
brous materials and the
e
ff
ectiveness of the coating and reduction procedures applied could be investigated. Apart from the
application of C
4
D in the monitoring of such processes, the feasibility of this small, highly sensitive and
rapidly-responsive detector to monitor strain and elasticity responses of conductive and elastomeric
composite
fi
bres for applications in motion sensing, biomedical monitoring, and stretchable electronics
was also demonstrated.