Preparation and characterization of carbon nanotube network via a filtration method

Abstract

The single carbon nanotube (CNT) has lots of important potential applications in many fields for its good electrical conductivity and mechanical property. But, single CNT is a nanometer material, and a powder from the macro point of view, which would hinder its applications. So there is need to CNT macro material. There are two ways to make the lots of single CNTs into macro materials: adding adhesive and without adhesive by other methods. Of course, adding adhesive can result in impurity. So the method without adhesive is a better way. But the way has no connections between the single CNTs and can result in that the obtained macro materials electrical conductivity and mechanical property are not as good as that of the single CNT. In order to resolve the problem, the authors firstly made the single CNTs into a macro material (CNT network precursor) via filtration method, and then grew new CNT between the close pristine single CNTs. The obtained macro material can have much better (ten times) electrical conductivity and mechanical property than those of the CNT network precursor. The obtained material and the CNT network precursor were both characterized by SEM, electrical conductivity testing and mechanical property testing.