title: Using in-situ polymerization of conductive polymers to enhance the electrical properties of solution-processed carbon nanotube films and fibers.
abstract: Single-walled carbon nanotubes/polymer composites typically have limited conductivity due to a low concentration of nanotubes and the insulating nature of the polymers used. Here we combined a method to align carbon nanotubes with in-situ polymerization of conductive polymer to form composite films and fibers. Use of the conducting polymer raised the conductivity of the films by 2 orders of magnitude. On the other hand, CNT fiber formation was made possible with in-situ polymerization to provide more mechanical support to the CNTs from the formed conducting polymer. The carbon nanotube/conductive polymer composite films and fibers had conductivities of 3300 and 170 S/cm, respectively. The relatively high conductivities were attributed to the polymerization process, which doped both the SWNTs and the polymer. In-situ polymerization can be a promising solution-processable method to enhance the conductivity of carbon nanotube films and fibers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University , Stanford, California 94305-5025, United States.
authors.forename: Ranulfo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Lijia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Gerald G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: Zhenan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bao