Composites of polyvinyl alcohol and carbon nanotubes decorated with silver nanoparticles

Abstract

A simple method to decorate carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with silver nanoparticles was developed to enhance the electrical conductivity of CNTs. The acid-treated CNTs were suspended in the silver acetate solution, ammonia solution was then added, and the CNTs decorated with silver nanoparticles (Ag@CNTs) were produced. The Ag@CNTs were dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to fabricate electrically conducting polymer composites. The electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of the composites were measured. The electrical conductivity of the composites containing 0.8 % (o.w.f.) Ag@CNTs was more than four orders of magnitude higher than those of pristine and functionalized CNTs respectively, which confirmed the effectiveness of the Ag@CNTs as conducting filler. However, the improved electrical conductivity led to somewhat decrease of mechanical properties of PVA/Ag@CNTs composites.