Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and Transducers
The increasing interest in stretchable conductive composite materials, that can be versatile and suitable for wide-ranging application, has sparked a growing demand for studies of scalable fabrication techniques and specifically tailored geometries. Thanks to the combination of the conductivity and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/4/1764 |
| _version_ | 1797619028083081216 |
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| author | Laura Fazi Carla Andreani Cadia D’Ottavi Leonardo Duranti Pietro Morales Enrico Preziosi Anna Prioriello Giovanni Romanelli Valerio Scacco Roberto Senesi Silvia Licoccia |
| author_facet | Laura Fazi Carla Andreani Cadia D’Ottavi Leonardo Duranti Pietro Morales Enrico Preziosi Anna Prioriello Giovanni Romanelli Valerio Scacco Roberto Senesi Silvia Licoccia |
| author_sort | Laura Fazi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The increasing interest in stretchable conductive composite materials, that can be versatile and suitable for wide-ranging application, has sparked a growing demand for studies of scalable fabrication techniques and specifically tailored geometries. Thanks to the combination of the conductivity and robustness of carbon nanotube (CNT) materials with the viscoelastic properties of polymer films, in particular their stretchability, “surface composites” made of a CNT on polymeric films are a promising way to obtain a low-cost, conductive, elastic, moldable, and patternable material. The use of polymers selected for specific applications, however, requires targeted studies to deeply understand the interface interactions between a CNT and the surface of such polymer films, and in particular the stability and durability of a CNT grafting onto the polymer itself. Here, we present an investigation of the interface properties for a selected group of polymer film substrates with different viscoelastic properties by means of a series of different and complementary experimental techniques. Specifically, we studied the interaction of a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) deposited on two couples of different polymeric substrates, each one chosen as representative of thermoplastic polymers (i.e., low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP)) and thermosetting elastomers (i.e., polyisoprene (PI) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)), respectively. Our results demonstrate that the characteristics of the interface significantly differ for the two classes of polymers with a deeper penetration (up to about 100 μm) into the polymer bulk for the thermosetting substrates. Consequently, the resistance per unit length varies in different ranges, from 1–10 kΩ/cm for typical thermoplastic composite devices (30 μm thick and 2 mm wide) to 0.5–3 MΩ/cm for typical thermosetting elastomer devices (150 μm thick and 2 mm wide). For these reasons, the composites show the different mechanical and electrical responses, therefore suggesting different areas of application of the devices based on such materials. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:21:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-89856fd4356341c4b9510394f4434906 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:21:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-89856fd4356341c4b9510394f44349062023-11-16T22:22:52ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492023-02-01284176410.3390/molecules28041764Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and TransducersLaura Fazi0Carla Andreani1Cadia D’Ottavi2Leonardo Duranti3Pietro Morales4Enrico Preziosi5Anna Prioriello6Giovanni Romanelli7Valerio Scacco8Roberto Senesi9Silvia Licoccia10NAST Centre, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyNAST Centre, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalySchool of Neutron Spectroscopy SONS, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyNAST Centre, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Science and Technologies, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyNAST Centre, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Physics, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyNAST Centre, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyNAST Centre, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, ItalyThe increasing interest in stretchable conductive composite materials, that can be versatile and suitable for wide-ranging application, has sparked a growing demand for studies of scalable fabrication techniques and specifically tailored geometries. Thanks to the combination of the conductivity and robustness of carbon nanotube (CNT) materials with the viscoelastic properties of polymer films, in particular their stretchability, “surface composites” made of a CNT on polymeric films are a promising way to obtain a low-cost, conductive, elastic, moldable, and patternable material. The use of polymers selected for specific applications, however, requires targeted studies to deeply understand the interface interactions between a CNT and the surface of such polymer films, and in particular the stability and durability of a CNT grafting onto the polymer itself. Here, we present an investigation of the interface properties for a selected group of polymer film substrates with different viscoelastic properties by means of a series of different and complementary experimental techniques. Specifically, we studied the interaction of a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) deposited on two couples of different polymeric substrates, each one chosen as representative of thermoplastic polymers (i.e., low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP)) and thermosetting elastomers (i.e., polyisoprene (PI) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)), respectively. Our results demonstrate that the characteristics of the interface significantly differ for the two classes of polymers with a deeper penetration (up to about 100 μm) into the polymer bulk for the thermosetting substrates. Consequently, the resistance per unit length varies in different ranges, from 1–10 kΩ/cm for typical thermoplastic composite devices (30 μm thick and 2 mm wide) to 0.5–3 MΩ/cm for typical thermosetting elastomer devices (150 μm thick and 2 mm wide). For these reasons, the composites show the different mechanical and electrical responses, therefore suggesting different areas of application of the devices based on such materials.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/4/1764carbon nanotubespolymer compositesself-assemblystretchable sensorsstretchable conductors |
| spellingShingle | Laura Fazi Carla Andreani Cadia D’Ottavi Leonardo Duranti Pietro Morales Enrico Preziosi Anna Prioriello Giovanni Romanelli Valerio Scacco Roberto Senesi Silvia Licoccia Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and Transducers Molecules carbon nanotubes polymer composites self-assembly stretchable sensors stretchable conductors |
| title | Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and Transducers |
| title_full | Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and Transducers |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and Transducers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and Transducers |
| title_short | Characterization of Conductive Carbon Nanotubes/Polymer Composites for Stretchable Sensors and Transducers |
| title_sort | characterization of conductive carbon nanotubes polymer composites for stretchable sensors and transducers |
| topic | carbon nanotubes polymer composites self-assembly stretchable sensors stretchable conductors |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/4/1764 |
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