Abstract
Despite the widespread use of sonication for individualization of nanomaterials, its destructive nature is rarely acknowledged. In this study, we demonstrated how exposure of the material to a hostile sound wave environment can be limited by the application of another preprocessing step. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were initially ground in a household coffee grinder, which enabled facile deagglomeration thereof. Such a simple approach enabled us to obtain high-quality CNT dispersion at reduced sonication time. Most importantly, electrical conductivity of free-standing films prepared from these dispersion was improved almost fourfold as compared with unground material eventually reaching 1067 ± 34 S/cm. This work presents a new approach as to how electrical properties of nanocarbon ensembles may be enhanced without the application of doping agents, the presence of which is often ephemeral.
Highlights
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown exceptional electrical [1,2], thermal [3,4,5], mechanical [6], and optical properties [7,8], and so the interest in these materials has been growing year by year
Particular attention has been devoted to enhance their electrical characteristics because of their unique potential to replace copper and aluminum in electrical wiring [9]. Another important aspect is that conductive CNT ensembles can be used for electrical stimulation in medicine [10,11]
Electrical conductivity of individual CNTs depends on the way they are “rolled-up” from a graphene sheet [12], so appropriate methods of structure control have to be established
Summary
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown exceptional electrical [1,2], thermal [3,4,5], mechanical [6], and optical properties [7,8], and so the interest in these materials has been growing year by year. To reach the technology readiness level appropriate for their deployment in real-life, electrical conductivity of these materials still needs to be improved. The literature contains information that the electrical conductivity of aligned, condensed and/or doped CNT films may reach the level of 10,000 S/cm [20,21].
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