Flexible carbon nanotube/polyurethane electrothermal films

Abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT)-based composites are ideal materials for electrothermal applications because of their lightweight, excellent conductivity, heat sensitivity, and easy processability. In this study, high-performance electrothermal films were synthesized by a novel layer-by-layer method. Electrothermal films were prepared by pouring CNT solution into the designed mold and subsequent curing of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) applied on the CNT layer. The flexible films showed sensitive electrothermal performance, and a steady-state temperature of ~140 °C could be reached at 10 V. In addition, temperature versus voltage and time-dependent temperature results show that the heating performance was strongly dependent on the CNT content and input power. Moreover, they can bear large deformations, which could be widely used in defogging and defrosting applications.

Aligned carbon nanotube webs embedded in a composite laminate: A route towards a highly tunable electro-thermal system

“…Dispersed CNTs have been widely investigated as the heating element [10,20,21], and applied through different methods. However, as dispersed CNTs present numerous challenges, such as achieving uniform dispersion, and difficulty in tuning for specific properties, aligned CNTs have emerged as potential efficient heating elements.…”

“…Boeing 787) but suffers from bonding, weight and heating uniformity problems [19]. As a consequence, alternative materials have been investigated, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [6,[9][10][11][20][21][22][23][24][25], carbon fibre (CF) [12] and electro-conductive textiles [7].…”

Novel stretchable thermochromic transparent heaters designed for smart window defroster applications by spray coating silver nanowire

“…Carbon-based materials such as carbon nanotubes, 12,13 and graphene 14,15 were utilized as transparent conductive electrodes in the fabrication of transparent heaters. The limitation associated with carbon-based electrodes is their high sheet resistance.…”

High‐efficient multifunctional self‐heating nanocomposite‐based MWCNTs for energy applications

“…Many studies have been carried out to use different types of CNTs-based nanocomposites for self-heating applications, for instance, MWCNTs/epoxy, 14 CNTs/polydime thylsiloxane (PDMS), 15 MWCNTs/m-aramid, 16 and CNTs/polyurethane. 17 The above studies successfully incorporated CNTs within the polymer in order to prepare a thin film used as a coating for self-heating applications. However, it is challenging to use this type of films in industrial scales, such as applying to the surface of the inner pipe for heating purpose in order to lower the viscosity of the oil or petrol during transport.…”