ABSTRACT

Since it was first obtained as a single sheet in 2004 by Geim et al. [1], graphene has attracted tremendous interest in the scientific community thanks to its outstanding mechanical [2–4], thermal [5], and especially electrical and transport properties [6]. The interest for graphene has been particularly pushed by the difficulties in exploiting and controlling the properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) throughout the last decade, as well as the high cost of the latter structures. Along with the interest in carbon-based nanostructures, composites filled with CNTs [7–10], graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) [11–17], or combined systems [18–21] have also recently drawn much attention from the scientific community, thanks to the very low loadings required to reach considerable improvement in functional properties, traditionally only achievable with high concentrations of conventional fillers. These new composites are continuously finding applications in various fields such as electromagnetic shielding, aeronautics, photovoltaics, actuators, and sensors. For instance, several studies have focused on the piezoresistive behavior of polymers reinforced with single- or multiwalled CNTs [22,23], expanded graphite, and GNPs [24–26].