Plasma functionalization of as grown carbon nanotubes for efficient dispersion

Abstract

We report a highly effective dispersion of plasma functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNT) and demonstrate the fabrication of CNT-based conductive films by spray deposition using the plasma treated CNT. We synthesized vertically aligned CNT (VCNT) with millimeter length scale through growth optimization of thermal chemical vapor deposition. The synthesized VCNT samples were transferred into a direct current plasma chamber which consists of parallel planar electrodes to endow hydrophilic functionalities through the argon or ammonia plasma treatment. As a result, the plasma treated VCNT could be uniformly dispersed in ethanol by simple ultrasonic treatment and remarkably enhanced dispersion rate comparing with non-treated CNT sample was obtained. Finally, we fabricated CNT-based transparent flexible conductive films using the plasma functionalized VCNT by spray deposition on polymer sheets. The effect of plasma treatment was discussed in terms of dispersion as well as sheet conductivity of the films for future application.