Electrokinetics of scalable, electric-field-assisted fabrication of vertically aligned carbon-nanotube/polymer composites

Castellano, Richard J.; Akin, Cevat; Giraldo, Gabriel; Kim, Sangil; Fornasiero, Francesco; Shan, Jerry W.

doi:10.1063/1.4921948

Electrokinetics of scalable, electric-field-assisted fabrication of vertically aligned carbon-nanotube/polymer composites

Journal Article · Tue Jun 02 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4921948· OSTI ID:1763190

Castellano, Richard J. ^[1]; Akin, Cevat ^[1]; Giraldo, Gabriel ^[1]; Kim, Sangil ^[2]; ^[2]; Shan, Jerry W. ^[1]

Rutgers Univ., Piscataway, NJ (United States)
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Composite thin films incorporating vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) offer promise for a variety of applications where the vertical alignment of the CNTs is critical to meet performance requirements, e.g., highly permeable membranes, thermal interfaces, dry adhesives, and films with anisotropic electrical conductivity. However, current VACNT fabrication techniques are complex and difficult to scale up. In this paper, we describe a solution-based, electric-field-assisted approach as a costeffective and scalable method to produce large-area VACNT composites. Multiwall-carbon nanotubes are dispersed in a polymeric matrix, aligned with an alternating-current (AC) electric field, and electrophoretically concentrated to one side of the thin film with a direct-current (DC) component to the electric field. This approach enables the fabrication of highly concentrated, individually aligned nanotube composites from suspensions of very dilute (Φ=4×10^–4) volume fraction. We experimentally investigate the basic electrokinetics of nanotube alignment under AC electric fields, and show that simple models can adequately predict the rate and degree of nanotube alignment using classical expressions for the induced dipole moment, hydrodynamic drag, and the effects of Brownian motion. The composite AC þ DC field also introduces complex fluid motion associated with AC electro-osmosis and the electrochemistry of the fluid/electrode interface. We experimentally probe the electric-field parameters behind these electrokinetic phenomena, and demonstrate, with suitable choices of processing parameters, the ability to scalably produce large-area composites containing VACNTs at number densities up to 10¹⁰ nanotubes/cm². This VACNT number density exceeds that of previous electric-fieldfabricated composites by an order of magnitude, and the surface-area coverage of the 40nm VACNTs is comparable to that of chemical-vapor-deposition-grown arrays of smaller-diameter nanotubes.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1763190

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL--737629; 889324

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 21 Vol. 117; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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