Oriented Single-Wall Carbon Nanotube Polymer Composites by Air-Water Inetrfacial Force Combing Layer-by-Layer Assembly

摘要

Layer-by-layer assembled (LBL) materials from single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) revealed promising physical properties attributed to the uniform distribution of inorganic fillers in the organic polyelectrolyte matrix. Here, we introduce new structures of SWNT - poly (styrene sulfonate) (PSS) -poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite thin films fabricated by layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. PSS wrapped SWNTs were aligned in one direction by air-water interfacial forces in a PVA matrix during LBL assembly. This SWNT alignment method which we called "SWNT combing" is efficient and robust enough to produce a multilayered SWNT-polymer composite. The structure and orientation of the SWNTs in the nanocomposite were observed by a variety of techniques including atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-vis spectroscopy. The material properties of the multilayered composite were characterized with mechanical stretch tests, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and electrical conductivity measurements.