Characterisation of graphene fibres and graphene coated fibres using capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detector

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.