title: Transparent, flexible, and highly conductive thin films based on polymer-nanotube composites.
abstract: We have prepared flexible, transparent, and very conducting thin composite films from poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate), filled with both arc discharge and HIPCO single-walled nanotubes, at high loading level. The films are of high optical uniformity. The arc discharge nanotube-filled composites were significantly more conductive, demonstrating DC conductivities of >10(5) S/m for mass fractions >50 wt %. The ratio of DC to optical conductivity was higher for composites with mass fractions of 55-60 wt % than for nanotube-only films. For an 80 nm thick composite, filled with 60 wt % arc discharge nanotubes, this conductivity ratio was maximized at sigma(DC)/sigma(Op) = 15. This translates into transmittance (550 nm) and sheet resistance of 75 and 80 Omega/square, respectively. These composites were electromechanically very stable, showing <1% resistance change over 130 bend cycles.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland.
authors.forename: Sukanta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De
authors.forename: Philip E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Lyons
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sorel
authors.forename: Evelyn M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Doherty
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Werner J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Blau
authors.forename: Peter N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Nirmalraj
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Boland
authors.forename: Vittorio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Scardaci
authors.forename: Jerome
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Joimel
authors.forename: Jonathan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Coleman