Electrical And Thermal Coatings From A Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT)/Polymer Composite

Gerard T. Caneba, Jay Axland

Department of Chemical Engineering Michigan Technological University 1400 Twnsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2004.32008                

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are uniquely suitable as lightweight electrically and thermally conductive materials. However, due to their tendency to agglomerate into fiber bundles and relatively weak adhesion to other materials, it has always been a challenge to process these materials for various applications. Solvents and additives with relatively strong specific intermolecular forces were proposed to be required to effect SWCNT dispersion along with the application of ultrasound. This work involved the use of this hypothesis, in order to disperse SWCNTs with an acid-containing copolymer that also served as a binder for the solid composite. In particular, HiPco was dispersed in DMF ant THF using a tapered vinyl acetate-acrylic acid (VA-t-AA) block copolymer with 6 wt % AA content. Dispersions were cast onto films and resulted in solid coatings that have good electrical and thermal conductive and capacitive properties.

Keywords

Carbon Nanotubes, Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes, Dispersion, Electrically Conductive Films, Capacitor Films, Thermal Films

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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