Controlling electrical percolation in multicomponent carbon nanotube dispersions

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced polymer composites offer desirable electrical properties for advanced applications.
• Fabrication of composites with controlled physical properties necessitates understanding and controlling CNT dispersion in the liquid phase.
• Achieving electrical conductivity in composites relies on the formation of system-spanning conductive networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the electrical percolation of carbon nanotubes within a polymer matrix.
• To determine how adding conductive polymer latex affects the percolation threshold.
• To understand the influence of mixing different colloidal particle shapes and sizes on network formation.

Main Methods:

• Combined experimental and theoretical approaches were employed.
• Studied the electrical percolation of carbon nanotubes in a polymer matrix.
• Investigated the effect of adding conductive polymer latex to CNT dispersions.

Main Results:

• A substantial reduction in the percolation threshold was achieved by adding small amounts of conductive polymer latex.
• Mixing spherical latex particles with rod-like nanotubes introduced competing length scales influencing network formation.
• The interplay between different species in dispersions resulted in synergistic or antagonistic percolation effects.

Conclusions:

• Conductive polymer latex can be effectively used to lower the percolation threshold in CNT-polymer composites.
• Particle size and shape interplay significantly impacts the formation of conductive networks.
• Understanding dispersion dynamics is key to optimizing composite fabrication for enhanced electrical properties.