MWCNTs patterning by thermally enhanced and confined evaporation for transparent and conductive thin film

Abstract

Conductive and transparent thin film structures are useful in flexible electronics. In this paper, we report multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) patterning into gradient regular patterns with large area of about several square centimeters on silicon or wafer glass slide via thermally enhanced evaporative self-assembly under wedge-shaped geometric confinement. The morphologies, electrical and optical properties of the MWCNTs thin film were characterized. The findings reveal that the conductance would increase with depositing times, meanwhile the transparency would decrease. The resistance of the grid patterning films of MWCNTs has a nearly linear relation to the transmittance in a relatively large range. The MWCNTs can be easily transferred to flexible substrate such as PET films or an adhesive tape. In comparison, SWCNTs could hardly be deposited into stripes or grid patterns, but the continuous thick films and discontinuous thin films could demonstrate better electrical and mechanical performance.