Thin and Flexible PANI/PMMA/CNF Forest Films Produced via a Two-Step Floating Catalyst Chemical Vapor Deposition

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Vertically aligned carbon nanofibres (CNFs) are crucial for advanced electronic and energy applications.
• Developing scalable and efficient methods for producing high-purity CNFs remains a challenge.
• Existing methods often lack control over alignment and purity, limiting their practical use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a straightforward two-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for synthesizing high-purity, vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanofibres (MWCNFs).
• To demonstrate the fabrication of flexible, conductive thin films from these MWCNFs for potential use in flexible electrodes and energy storage devices.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a floating catalyst CVD approach with two distinct solutions: ferrocene/acetonitrile (ACN) as the catalyst and camphor/ACN as the carbon source.
• Grew CNFs in a horizontal CVD reactor at 850 °C under atmospheric pressure.
• Characterized the synthesized MWCNFs using Raman spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, XRD, and TGA.
• Coated the MWCNTs with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) on a silicon substrate to form a flexible film.

Main Results:

• Achieved consistent production of vertically aligned MWCNFs with high purity.
• The resulting PMMA-coated MWCNT film is 62 μm thick, flexible, conductive, and stable in aqueous solutions.
• The film demonstrated suitability for further processing, such as electropolymerization with polyaniline.

Conclusions:

• The developed two-step CVD method offers a viable route to high-quality, vertically aligned MWCNFs.
• The flexible, conductive MWCNT films are promising for next-generation flexible electrodes and energy storage systems.
• The material's stability and processability open avenues for integration into complex devices.