title: Fabrication and characterization of thin films of single-walled carbon nanotube bundles on flexible plastic substrates.
abstract: A convenient method to obtain patterns of films of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) bundles on flexible plastic is described. Using the Line Patterning method SWNT films of thickness ranging from approximately 300-1500 nm can be obtained from aqueous surfactant-supported dispersions of chemically purified SWNT bundles synthesized by the pulsed-laser ablation method. These films are strongly adherent and are competitive in performance with commercially available films of indium-tin-oxide (ITO) on plastics. For example, an approximately 1500 thick film of SWNT on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) shows a surface resisitvity of approximately 80 Omega/sq, optical transparency >80%, and robust flexibility. Unlike ITO/PET, films of SWNT/PET can be folded and bent to a crease without cracking. The simple techniques involoved in obtaining these films (i.e., those without requiring lithography or ink-jet printing) could help facilitate the rapid fabrication of transparent, flexible electronic devices, heralding what promises to be a new approach towards the development of next-generation optoelectronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Alan G. MacDiarmid Laboratories for Technical Innovation, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, USA.
authors.forename: Neerja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saran
authors.forename: Kunjal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Parikh
authors.forename: Dong-Seok
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Harsha
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kolla
authors.forename: Sanjeev K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Manohar