Battisti, AndreaSkordos, Alexandros A.Partridge, Ivana K.2011-04-132011-04-132009-01-01A Battisti, A.A. Skordos, I.K. Partridge, Dielectric monitoring of carbon nanotube network formation in curing thermosetting nanocomposites, 2009 Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 42(15), 1554020022-3727http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/42/15/155402http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/4126This paper focuses on monitoring of carbon nanotube (CNT) network development during the cure of unsaturated polyester nanocomposites by means of electrical impedance spectroscopy. A phenomenological model of the dielectric response is developed using equivalent circuit analysis. The model comprises two parallel RC elements connected in series, each of them giving rise to a semicircular arc in impedance complex plane plots. An established inverse modelling methodology is utilized for the estimation of the parameters of the corresponding equivalent circuit. This allows a quantification of the evolution of two separate processes corresponding to the two parallel RC elements. The high frequency process, which is attributed to CNT aggregates, shows a monotonic decrease in characteristic time during the cure. In contrast, the low frequency process, which corresponds to inter-aggregate phenomena, shows a more complex behaviour explained by the interplay between conductive network development and the cross-linking of the polymer.en-UKArticle