On the temperature dependent electrical resistivity of CNT layers in view of Variable Range Hopping models

Thin films of randomly dispersed carbon nanotubes make highly promising material for transparent electrode applications. Knowing and understanding the nature of the films conductivity is crucial for improvement of their electrical properties. In the paper we present our investigation of electrical conductivity of single wall and multiwalled carbon nanotube (SWCNT and MWCNT) thin films deposited on a polymeric substrate by Langmuir-Schaefer technique. The conductivity of the films is consistent with the Variable Range Hopping (VRH) model. Moreover, remarkable differences in SWCNT and MWCNT films conductivity are observed. A significant impact of the thin film annealing and its temperature history on the conductivity properties is shown. The study of the carbon nanotubes layers transferred on polymeric substrate was undertaken in view of the films possible applications in flexible transparent electrodes. The VRH conductivity in carbon nanotube Langmuir-Schaefer layer is reported for the first time.     

Flexible,Stretchable, Transparent Conducting Films Made from Superaligned Carbon Nanotubes

A straightforward roll‐to‐roll process for fabricating flexible and stretchable superaligned carbon nanotube films as transparent conducting films is demonstrated. Practical touch panels assembled by using these carbon nanotube conducting films are superior in flexibility and wearability—and comparable in linearity—to touch panels based on indium tin oxide (ITO) films. After suitable laser trimming and deposition of Ni and Au metal, the carbon nanotube film possesses excellent performance with two typical values of sheet resistances and transmittances (208 Ω □^?1, 90% and 24 Ω □^?1, 83.4%), which are comparable to ITO films and better than the present carbon nanotube conducting films in literature. The results provide a route to produce transparent conducting films more easily, effectively, and cheaply, an important step for realizing industrial‐scale applications of carbon nanotubes for transparent conducting films.     

Amorphous Carbon Nanotubes with Tunable Properties via Template Wetting

Amorphous carbon nanotubes have been prepared by casting thin films of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polystyrene‐block‐polyacrylonitrile (PS‐b‐PAN) within a porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane followed by pyrolysis. Raman and wide‐ angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) measurements indicate that the carbon nanotubes are of low crystallinity. The thickness of the carbon nanotube walls is controlled by either changing the concentration of the precursor solution or by using multiple casting and pyrolysis steps. When diblock copolymers of PS‐b‐PAN are used, it is found that nanopores are created within the nanotube walls after pyrolysis. The carbon nanotubes can be used to create carbon coated nanorods of polystyrene‐block‐polybutadiene (PS‐b‐PBD).     

High Mechanical Performance Composite Conductor: Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Sheet/Bismaleimide Nanocomposites

Multi‐walled carbon nanotube (MWNT)‐sheet‐reinforced bismaleimide (BMI) resin nanocomposites with high concentrations (～60 wt%) of aligned MWNTs are successfully fabricated. Applying simple mechanical stretching and prepregging (pre‐resin impregnation) processes on initially randomly dispersed, commercially available sheets of millimeter‐long MWNTs leads to substantial alignment enhancement, good dispersion, and high packing density of nanotubes in the resultant nanocomposites. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of the nanocomposites reaches 2 088 MPa and 169 GPa, respectively, which are very high experimental results and comparable to the state‐of‐the‐art unidirectional IM7 carbon‐fiber‐reinforced composites for high‐performance structural applications. The nanocomposites demonstrate unprecedentedly high electrical conductivity of 5 500 S cm^?1 along the alignment direction. Such unique integration of high mechanical properties and electrical conductance opens the door for developing polymeric composite conductors and eventually structural composites with multifunctionalities. New fracture morphology and failure modes due to self‐assembly and spreading of MWNT bundles are also observed.     

ITO‐Free and Flexible Organic Photovoltaic Device Based on High Transparent and Conductive Polyaniline/Carbon Nanotube Thin Films

The synthesis and characterization of thin films of polyaniline/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites is reported, as well as their utilization as transparent electrodes in ITO‐free organic photovoltaic devices. These films are generated by interfacial synthesis, which provides them with the unique ability to be deposited onto any substrate as transparent films, thus enabling the production of flexible solar cells using substrates like PET. Very high carbon nanotube loadings can be achieved using these films without significantly affecting their transparency (≈80–90% transmittance at 550 nm). Sheet resistances as low as 300 Ω/□ are obtained using secondary polyaniline doping in the presence of carbon nanotubes. These films present excellent mechanical stability, exhibiting no lack in performance after 100 bend cycles. Flexible and completely ITO‐free organic photovoltaic devices are built using these films as transparent electrodes, and high efficiencies (up to 2.27%) are achieved.     

Enhancement of Modulus,Strength, and Toughness in Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐Based Composites by the Incorporation of Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐Functionalized Nanotubes

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)‐functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes are prepared by in situ polymerization. Infrared absorbance studies reveal covalent bonding between polymer strands and the nanotubes. These treated nanotubes are blended with pure PMMA in solution before drop‐casting to form composite films. Increases in Young's modulus, breaking strength, ultimate tensile strength, and toughness of ×1.9, ×4.7, ×4.6, and ×13.7, respectively, are observed on the addition of less than 0.5 wt % of nanotubes. Effective reinforcement is only observed up to a nanotube content of approximately 0.1 vol %. Above this volume fraction, all mechanical parameters tend to fall off, probably due to nanotube aggregation. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies of composite fracture surfaces show a polymer layer coating the nanotubes after film breakage. The fact that the polymer and not the interface fails suggests that functionalization results in an extremely high polymer/nanotube interfacial shear strength.     

化学处理增强碳纳米管的湿敏效应

研究了多壁碳纳米管的湿敏效应。研究中所用碳纳米管是用热灯丝化学汽相沉积法生长的。实验结果表明 ,经由化学修饰后碳纳米管的湿敏效应有了极大的增强。化学修饰后碳纳米管在水蒸汽中电阻相对变化达到了 30 0 % ,而未修饰只有 3.2 5 %。本文对其结果进行了分析和讨论     

Self‐Organized Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Conducting Thin Films with Honeycomb Structures on Flexible Plastic Films

Complex 1, synthesized from anionic shortened single‐walled carbon nanotubes and cationic ammonium lipid dissolved in organic solvents, is cast on pretreated transparent flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films under a higher relative humidity to form thin films with self‐organized honeycomb structures. The cell sizes are controllable by changing the experimental conditions. The lipid, which is the cationic part of complex 1, is easily removed by a simple ion‐exchange method, while maintaining the basic honeycomb structures. After the ion exchange, the nanotube honeycomb films on PET with thinner skeletons exhibit a dramatic decrease in the surface resistivity from insulating to conducting. Carbon nanotubes with honeycomb structures formed by the self‐organization on flexible polymer films are useful in many areas of nanoscience and technology including nanomaterials, nanoelectronics, nanodevices, catalysts, sensors, and so on.     

Properties of Carbon Nanotube Fibers Spun from DNA‐Stabilized Dispersions

The fabrication of single‐walled carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers containing (salmon) DNA has been demonstrated. The DNA material has been found to be adequate for dispersing relatively large concentrations (up to 1 % by weight) of carbon nanotubes. These dispersions are better suited for fiber spinning than previously studied dispersions based on conventional surfactants, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The DNA‐containing fibers were less conductive than the fibers based on SDS, but they were significantly stronger. Considerably increased conductivity was obtained by thermally annealing the CNT/DNA fibers, a process accompanied by a loss in mechanical strength. Smaller improvements in conductivity could be introduced by annealing the carbon nanotubes before fiber production, with no alteration of the fiber mechanical properties. Those CNT/DNA fibers that were mechanically strong and conductive also exhibited good electrochemical behavior and useful capacitance values (up to 7.2 F g^–1).     

General Method for Large‐Area Films of Carbon Nanomaterials and Application of a Self‐Assembled Carbon Nanotube Film as a High‐Performance Electrode Material for an All‐Solid‐State Supercapacitor

Rational assembly of carbon nanostructures into large‐area films is a key step to realize their applications in ubiquitous electronics and energy devices. Here, a self‐assembly methodology is devised to organize diverse carbon nanostructures (nanotubes, dots, microspheres, etc.) into homogeneous films with potentially infinite lateral dimensions. On the basis of studies of the redox reactions in the systems and the structures of films, the spontaneous deposition of carbon nanostructures onto the surface of the copper substrate is found to be driven by the electrical double layer between copper and solution. As a notable example, the as‐assembled multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films display exceptional properties. They are a promising material for flexible electronics with superior electrical and mechanical compliance characteristics. Finally, two kinds of all‐solid‐state supercapacitors based on the self‐assembled MWCNT films are fabricated. The supercapacitor using carbon cloth as the current collector delivers an energy density of 3.5 Wh kg^?1 and a power density of 28.1 kW kg^?1, which are comparable with the state‐of‐the‐art supercapacitors fabricated by the costly single‐walled carbon nanotubes and arrays. The supercapacitor free of foreign current collector is ultrathin and shows impressive volumetric energy density (0.58 mWh cm^?3) and power density (0.39 W cm^?3) too.     

Graphene Versus Carbon Nanotubes in Electronic Devices

Advances in semiconductor device during last few decades enable us to improve the electronic device performance by minimizing the device dimension. However, further development of these systems encounters scientific and technological limits and forces us to explore better alternatives. Low‐dimensional carbon allotropes such as carbon nanotube and graphene exhibit superior electronic, optoelectronic, and mechanical properties compared to the conventional semiconductors. This Feature Article reviews the recent progresses of carbon nanotubes and graphene researches and compares their electronic properties and electric device performances. A particular focus is the comparison of the characteristics in transparent conducting films (transparency and sheet resistance) and field‐effect transistors (FETs) (device types, ambipolarity, mobility, doping strategy, FET‐performance, logic and memory operations). Finally, the performance of devices that combine graphene and carbon nanotubes is also highlighted.     

Piezoresistive Sensors Based on Carbon Nanotube Films

Piezoresistive effect of carbon nanotube films was investigated by a three-point bending test. Carbon nanotubes were synthesized by hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The experimental results showed that the carbon nanotubes have a striking piezoresistive effect. The relative resistance was changed from 0 to 10.5 X 10-2 and 3.25 X 10-2 for doped and undoped films respectively at room temperature when the microstrain under stress from 0 to 500. The gauge factors for doped and undoped carbon nanotube films under 500 microstrain were about 220 and 67 at room temperature, respectively, exceeding that of polycrystalline silicon (30) at 35 ℃. The origin of the resistance changes in the films may be attributed to a strain-induced change in the band gap for the doped tubes and the defects for the undoped tubes.     

应力诱导碳纳米管电阻的变化

利用三点弯曲法研究了掺杂和末掺杂碳纳米管薄膜应力诱导电阻的变化。该研究中所用的碳纳米管是用热灯丝化学汽相沉积法合成的。实验结果表明 ,碳纳米管有显著的应力诱导电阻变化的效应。当应力从 0 .2GPa增加到 1GPa时 ,膜的电阻相对变化从 7%增加到 11% ,而非掺杂的薄膜电阻变化小于掺杂膜的情况。电阻随应力变化的原因也许是带隙变化 (掺杂 )和管之间接触电阻变化 (非掺杂 )所致     

大电流密度碳纳米管阴极的生长及场发射性能研究

研究了碳纳米管作为大电流密度场发射阴极的CVD生长情况与场发射性能。结果表明,通过CVD生长的碳纳米臂的直径与催化剂颗粒的直径相近,其生长方向是随机的。根据薄膜厚度与催化剂颗粒的关系,认为通过控制催化剂薄膜的厚度可能会达到调节碳纳米管直径的目的。在实验中获得的碳纳米管具备了良好的场发射性能,在直径为0．13mm的圆形面积上获得的碳纳米管场发射平均电流密度达到1．28A／cm^2。     

Preparation of Smart Polymer/Carbon Nanotube Conjugates via Stimuli‐Responsive Linkages

In this paper, we modified carbon nanotubes with the thiol‐reactive species, subsequently combined the thiol‐coupling reaction and reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to prepare temperature‐responsive PNIPAAm (poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide))‐carbon nanotube conjugates. The prepared PNIPAAm‐carbon nanotube conjugates have temperature‐responsive PNIPAAm chain, and disulfide linkages between PNIPAAm and carbon nanotube which are sensitive to bio‐stimuli such as glutathione, therefore dual‐responsive polymer‐carbon nanotube conjugates have been prepared.     

Facile method for enhancing conductivity of printed carbon nanotubes electrode via simple rinsing process

We report a simple rinsing process to enhance the conductivity of printed carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes. Polystyrene sulfonate(PSS)-wrapped CNTs were well dispersed in ethanol for printing via electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing. PSS as a surfactant reduces the conductivity of CNT electrodes, restricting their applications in electronic devices. Even though the PSS rinsing process is necessary, it promotes delamination of CNTs. The challenges associated with the rinsing process and the delamination of CNTs were overcome in this study by introducing a polymer, poly(vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) (P(VB-co-VA-co-VAc)) as an adhesion layer. The use of P(VB-co-VA-co-VAc) increased the adhesion between the CNTs printed by the EHD jet technique and the underlying substrate during the CNT rinsing process. The rinsing process led to a significant enhancement in the conductivity of the CNT electrodes, and these electrodes were applied to organic field-effect transistor devices based on TIPS-pentacene. The device exhibited a high field-effect mobility of 0.25 cm²/(V·s).     

Optimizing Single‐Walled‐Carbon‐Nanotube‐Based Saturable Absorbers for Ultrafast Lasers

The application of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as saturable absorbers (SA) in a Nd:glass femtosecond laser is verified as a promising alternative to traditional semiconductor saturable‐absorber mirrors (SESAMs). The shortest laser pulses achieved with a SWCNT‐SA fabricated by the slow‐evaporation method are reported herein. Nearly Fourier‐limited 288 fs pulses are obtained with negative‐dispersion soliton mode‐locking. The importance of the properties of the starting material, such as the degree of purity and the chirality, and the successive slow‐evaporation deposition method is proven by using a multitechnique approach based on X‐ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and μ‐Raman spectroscopy. The high degree of nanotube alignment on the glass substrate and also the slight metallic character due to electron transfer between the glass matrix and the nanotubes themselves are identified as the main features responsible for the good laser response.     

Light‐Switchable Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes Based on Host–Guest Chemistry

A new type of light‐switchable “smart” single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWNTs) is developed by the reversible host–guest interaction between azobenzene‐terminal PEO (AzoPEO) and pyrene‐labeled host attached on the sidewalls of nanotubes via π–π stacking. The SWNTs hybrids not only are well dispersed in pure water, but also exhibit switchable dispersion/aggregation states upon the alternate irradiation of UV and visible light. Moreover, the SWNTs hybrids dispersion is preliminarily used as coating fluid to form transparent conductive films. The dispersant AzoPEO is removed by the contamination‐free UV treatment, decreasing the resistance of the films. This kind of light‐switchable SWNTs hybrids, possessing a ‘‘green’’ trigger and intact structure of the nanotube, may find potential applications in sensor of biomedicines, device fabrication, etc. Additionally, such a reversible host–guest interaction system may open up the possibility to control the dispersion state of SWNTs by other common polymers.     

Carbon Nanotubes on Polymeric Microcapsules: Free‐Standing Structures and Point‐Wise Laser Openings

Single‐wall carbon nanotubes modified by anionic polyelectrolyte molecules are embedded into the shells of microcapsules. Carbon nanotubes serve as rigid rods in a softer polymeric capsule, which forms a free‐standing shell upon treatment with glutaraldehyde and subsequent drying. The embedded carbon nanotubes exhibit a broad absorption in the UV–near‐infrared part of the spectrum, and that allows point‐wise activation and opening of the microcapsules by laser. Raman signal analysis shows changes of carbon‐nanotube‐specific lines after high‐power laser irradiation, which is characteristic of the formation of disordered carbonlike structures. These polyelectrolyte/carbon nanotube composite capsules represent a novel light‐addressable type of microcontainers.     

Spray deposited carbon nanotubes for organic vapor sensors

In this article a study of chemiresistor sensors based on Single and Multi Wall Carbon Nanotube films deposited at low temperature by means of a spray technique is presented. A dispersion of nanotube powder in a non-polar 1,2-Dichloroethane solvent was used as starting solution. Electron Microscopy in Scanning and Transmission mode were used in order to verify the morphological properties of the deposited films. The conductivity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was measured in two organic solvent vapors environments: 2-propanol and carbon-tetrachloride. The solvents used are characterized by different polarities. The results show that the electrical resistance of the sensors increases when exposed to solvent vapors. Finally the effect of Teflon-like and Melanin coatings on the sensitivity yield is presented and discussed.