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Abstract
During their synthesis, multi-walled carbon nanotubes can be aligned and impregnated in a polymer matrix to form an electrically conductive and flexible nanocomposite with high backing density. The material exhibits the highest reported electrical conductivity of CNT-epoxy composites (350 S/m). Here, we show how conductive atomic force microscopy can be used to study the electrical transport mechanism in order to explain the enhanced electrical properties of the composite. The high spatial resolution and versatility of the technique allows us to further decouple the two main contributions to the electrical transport: (1) the intrinsic resistance of the tube and (2) the tunneling resistance due to nanoscale gaps occurring between the epoxy-coated tubes along the composite. The results show that the material behaves as a conductive polymer, and the electrical transport is governed by electron tunneling at interconnecting CNT-polymer junctions. We also point out the theoretical formulation of the nanoscale electrical transport between the AFM tip and the sample in order to derive both the composite conductivity and the CNT intrinsic properties. The enhanced electrical properties of the composite are attributed to high degree of alignment, the CNT purity, and the large tube diameter which lead to low junction resistance. By controlling the tube diameter and using other polymers, the nanocomposite electrical conductivity can be improved.
Highlights
Carbon nanotube polymer nanocomposites (CNT-PNCs) have been extensively investigated due to their enhanced properties [1,2,3]
The resultant vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) carpet was annealed at 2,000°C for 2 h in argon to produce high-purity MWCNT
In summary, the structural and electrical characterization of the vertically aligned multi-walled CNT arrays embedded in epoxy resin has been performed by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopes coupled with conductive atomic force microscopy C-AFM
Summary
Carbon nanotube polymer nanocomposites (CNT-PNCs) have been extensively investigated due to their enhanced properties [1,2,3]. The advantages of the composite include (1) their superior electrical and thermal conductivities combined with high mechanical strength and (2) retention of the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix such as flexibility and processibility. The electrical conductivity of the composite of metallic particles/fibers in an insulating matrix is well described by the percolation theory. The use of high carbon nanofiber embedded in SiO2 to interconnect in integrated circuits [14,15] and randomly dispersed multi-walled carbon nanofiber polymer nanocomposites (R-CNT-PNCs) [16]. The advantage of this technique is to probe simultaneously the structural and electrical properties with nanoscale resolution
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