Transparent conducting hybrid thin films fabricated by layer-by-layer assembly of single-wall carbon nanotubes and conducting polymers

Abstract

The effect of conducting polymers on the performance of transparent conducting SWNT thin films fabricated by the layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly has been investigated. Transparent conducting SWNT thin films were fabricated by the LBL assembly in two ways, one using conducting polymers, PEDOT-PEG, and the other using non-conducting polymers, PAH, and their electrical and optical properties were compared. The sheet resistance of (PSS-SWNT/PEDOT-PEG) n films is more than thrice lower than that of (PSS-SWNT/PAH) n films for the same n while the decrease of optical transmittance due to the absorbance of PEDOT-PEG is fairly small (ca. 2 % at n=30). The conductivity ratio of the (PSS-SWNT/PEDOT-PEG)30 is 3.3 times larger than that of the (PSS-SWNT/PAH)30. These figures indicate that the performance of the transparent conducting SWNT thin films fabricated by the LBL assembly is highly improved by using conducting polymers instead of non-conducting ones.