Conducting and transparent SWNT/polymer composites

Abstract

PACS 72.80. Tm, 73.25+ i, 78.66.Sq, 78.67.Ch Flexible, transparent and conducting poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites films were prepared using SOCl 2 functionalized SWNTs. Optical absorption spectra measured on composite films confirm that the composite preparation procedure preserves the electronic properties (position of the Fermi level) of the p-doped nanotubes in the polymer matrix. Due to the doping effect of SOCl 2 the electrical conductivity of the composites is improved by a factor of 5. The light transmission of the composite films depends on the film thickness and on the nanotube concentration. The optical transmittance of visible light at 500 nm was found to be 92% for 0.1 wt% SWNT loading and 46% for 0.5 wt% SWNT loading. The thickness of the specimens was approximately 20 µm. Conductivity measurement of the thin films performed with the four lead method revealed values 3.5 × 10 -3 S/cm and 4.7 × 10 -1 S/cm, respectively.

Highly conducting poly(methyl methacrylate)/carbon nanotubes composites: Investigation on their thermal, dynamic-mechanical, electrical and dielectric properties

“…4). Even lower p c values have been reported in PMMA/CNT systems prepared by other procedures like in-situ polymerization [8], solution casting [7,12,[20][21][22][23] and others [27][28][29], without being able to make a direct comparison of these values since the aspect ratios of the nanotubes is not similar (in most of the cases they were in the range of 1000).…”

“…shielding materials [7][8][9], transparent conducting films [10][11][12], gas sensors [13,14], etc. In addition, functionalization of CNT can significantly enhance the thermal and mechanical properties of PMMA [15][16][17][18].…”

“…Literature survey in conducting PMMA/CNT systems reveals several works prepared by the common methods of solution mixing/casting [7][8][9]11,12,[20][21][22][23][24] and in-situ polymerization [8,9,25], and a limited number of studies where other more sophisticated techniques were employed (coagulation [26,27], electrospinning [28], latex technology 3 [29], combination of solvent casting and melt mixing [30]). Surprisingly, there are only few works in systems prepared by melt mixing, even though this method has been widely applied in other thermoplastic matrices, since it offers several advantages such as speed, simplicity, low cost, absence of solvents and availability of the required equipment in the plastic industry.…”

Single‐walled carbon nanotubes/polycarbonate composites: basic electrical and mechanical properties

“…The harvested nanomaterial from different runs was carefully mechanically homogenized with a mixing apparatus and then placed into an industrial tumbler for approximately 24 h. A desired side effect was that the web-like structure of the nanomaterial turned to a fine powder. By means of our quality control protocol [4,5,9], the SWCNT content was estimated to be in the range of 30 to 40%, which is quite reasonable for arc discharge (ArcD) material. The mean length of the tubes was found to be in the range of 4-6 µm.…”

Single wall carbon nanotube/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanocomposite film as a transparent electrode for flexible organic light-emitting diodes

“…On the other hand, transmittance of the nanocomposite films was more reduced compared with the neat PEDOT film. This transmittance reduction comes from the absorption of SWNTs judging from the significant transmittance reduction in the short wavelength range below 400 nm [17].…”