The infrared photoresponse in the electrical conductivity of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is dramatically enhanced by embedding SWNTs in an electrically and thermally insulating polymer matrix. The conductivity change in a 5 wt % SWNT-polycarbonate nanocomposite is significant (4.26%) and sharp upon infrared illumination in the air at room temperature. While the thermal effect predominates in the infrared photoresponse of a pure SWNT film, the photoeffect predominates in the infrared photoresponse of SWNT-polycarbonate nanocomposites.
Nanocomposite films comprising polymer‐functionalized single‐walled carbon‐nanotubes (SWNTs) and liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) show a reversible IR‐induced strain (∼−30%) at very low SWNT loading levels (≤0.2 wt%). SWNTs can efficiently transform absorbed IR light into thermal energy, thereby serving as a nanoscale heat‐source and thermal‐ conduction pathway. The absorbed thermal‐energy induced a nematic– isotropic phase‐transition, generating a shape change in the nanocomposite film.
High-dielectric-constant carbon nanotube-polymer composites are developed using core-shell multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as a filler, in which the outer graphene layer is covalently functionalized to become nonconducting, whereas the inner graphene layers are unfunctionalized and remain electrically conducting. Hydroxylated MWNTs represent one of the simplest types of core-shell MWNTs. In this article, we report a comparative study of the electrical and dielectric properties of MWNT-polydimethylsiloxane composites based on pristine MWNTs and hydroxylated MWNTs, respectively. We demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of using core-shell MWNTs as a filler to increase the dielectric constant and reduce the dielectric loss of nanotube-polymer composites.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.