Using the carbon nanotube (CNT)/CNT interaction to obtain hybrid conductive nanostructures

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) combine unique physical, electrical, chemical, thermal and mechanical properties with a huge surface area that qualify them to a broad range of applications. These potential applications, however, are often limited due to the strong inter-tubes van der Waals interactions, which results in poor dispersion in polymeric matrixes or solvents in general. Thus, the goal of this work was to use this limitation as an advantage, to produce novel conductive hybrid nanostructures, which consist of nonwoven Nylon 6 (PA6) mats of electrospun nanofibers with a large amount of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) strongly attached and adsorbed on the nanofibers̈ surfaces. To produce such structures, the MWCNT were previously functionalized with carboxylic groups and subsequently incorporated in the nanofibers by two subsequent steps: i) preparation of nonwoven mats of PA6/MWCNT by electrospinning and ii) treatment of the mats in an aqueous dispersion of MWCNT/Triton X-100. Analyses of UV-visible light showed that carboxylic groups were actually inserted in the MWCNT. Thermogravimetric analyzes (TGA) showed that the amount of adsorbed MWCNT on the fibers̈ surfaces at the end of the procedure was approximately 12 times higher than after the first step. Micrographs obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed this result and electrical conductivities measurements of the MWCNT/PA6, after the treatment in the aqueous solution, showed that these structures had conductivity of 10-2 S/m. It was concluded that the adhesion of CNTs at the surface of the nanofibers occurred due a combination of two types of bonding: hydrogen bonds between the carboxylic groups of the functionalized CNT and the PA6 and van der Waals interactions between the CNTs.