Site-specific deposition of Au nanoparticles in CNT films by chemical bonding

There has been no attempt to date to specifically modify the nodes in carbon nanotube (CNT) networks. If the nodes can be modified in favorable ways, the electrical and/or thermal and/or mechanical properties of the CNT networks could be improved. In an attempt to influence the performance as a transparent conductive film, gold nanoparticles capped with the amino acid cysteine (Au-CysNP) have been selectively attached at the nodes of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) networks. These nanoparticles have an average diameter of 5 nm as observed by TEM. FTIR and XPS were used to characterize each step of the MWCNT chemical functionalization process. The chemical process was designed to favor selective attachment at the nodes and not the segments in the CNT networks. The chemical processing was designed to direct formation of nodes where the gold nanoparticles are. The nanoparticles which were loosely held in the CNT network could be easily washed away by solvents, while those bound chemically remained. TEM results show that the Cys-AuNPs are preferentially located at the nodes of the CNT networks when compared to the segments. These nanoparticles at the nodes were also characterized by a novel technique called diffraction scanning transmission electron microscopy (D-STEM) confirming their identity. Four-probe measurements found that the sheet resistance of the modified CNT networks was half that of similarly transparent pristine multiwalled CNT networks.