TRANSPARENT CARBON NANOTUBE/POLY (3, 4‐ETHYLENEDIOXYTHIOPHENE) COMPOSITE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS

Abstract

A highly stable and processable aqueous dispersion of multi‐wall carbon nanotube/poly (3, 4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) composite was synthesized through the polymerization of 3, 4‐ehtylenedioxythiophene on the surfaces of polystyrene sulfonic acid dispersed carbon nanotubes. Transparent and conductive composite thin films were built on both glass and poly (ethylene terephthalate) substrates through spin‐coating. The composite thin films show low surface resistance with uniform and high transmittance in the visible light range. Furthermore, the surface resistance can be tuned by changing carbon nanotube content in the composite for different technical applications.

Keywords:

• Carbon nanotubes
• Poly (3, 4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)
• Transparent conductive coating

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors thank the National Science Foundation (Awards DMR 0552295, DMR 0506531 and DMR 0746499) for financial support.