Electrical properties of polyaniline and multi-walled carbon nanotube hybrid fibers

We have fabricated for the first time one-dimensional multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) nanocomposite fibers with improved electrical properties using electrospinning. Polyaniline (PANi) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were used as a conducting and a nonconducting matrix, respectively, for hybrid nanofibers including MWNTs. The hybrid nanofibers fabricated by electrospinning had a length of several centimeters and a diameter ranging from approximately 100 nm to approximately 1 microm. Transmission electron microscopic analysis confirmed that the MWNTs were successfully oriented along the fiber axis without any severe aggregation during electrospinning. The hybrid nanofibers showed an enhanced electrical conductance with increasing MWNT content up to 0.5 wt%, and compared to PANi/PEO fibers, they also showed a stable linear ohmic behavior. These hybrid conducting nanofibers can be applied to chemical and biosensors that require a high sensitivity.