Transparent conductive thin films (TCFs) are essential materials for solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and display panels. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is one of the most widely used commercial materials to create TCFs’; however, new materials that can possibly replace ITO at a lower cost and/or those possessing mechanical flexibility are urgently needed. Silver nanowire (AgNW) is one of those promising materials, as it is less expensive and possesses superior mechanical flexibility as compared to ITO. We used AgNW and sol-gel ZnO to fabricate composite thin films by spray coating. We propose two spray-coating methods: the ‘metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)/AgNW’ method and the Mixture method. These two methods are expected to be commercialized for high-quality and low-cost products, respectively.
In this paper, we fabricated organic compounds detector using the MWCNT/PMMA (multi-walled carbon nanotube / polymethylmethacrylate) composite film. We used polymer film as a matrix material for the device framework, and introduced CNTs for reacting with the organic compounds resulting in changing electrical conductivity. Spray coating method was used to form the MWCNT/PMMA composite film detector, and pattern formation of the detector was done by shadow mask during the spray coating process. We investigated changes of electrical conductivity of the detector before and after the organic compounds exposure. Electrical conductivity of the detector tended to decrease after the exposure with various organic compounds such as acetone, tetrahydrofuran(THF), toluene, and dimethylformamide (DMF). Finally we conclude that organic compounds detection by the MWCNT/PMMA composite film detector was possible, and expect the feasibility of commercial MWCNT/PMMA composite film detector for various organic compounds.
In this paper, we investigated the relations between dispersion of CNTs (carbon nanotubes) and electrical conductivity in the CNT/PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) composite film. By adding hydrophobic CNTs as filler into the PVDF matrix, we fabricated hydrophobic and electrically conducting polymer coating film. Dispersion of CNTs in the CNT/PVDF composite film plays a significant role in terms of electrical conductivity and wetting property. Spray coating method was used to form the CNT/PVDF composite films by injecting the dispersed CNTs in the PVDF solution with different weight ratios from 0.7 wt% to 7 wt%. We investigated the electrical properties and contact angles of the CNT/PVDF composite films with the CNT concentration. Finally we discussed the conducting mechanism and feasibility of the CNT/PVDF composite film for the conducting polymer films.
In this paper, we fabricated flexible antenna radiator using the CNT/PVDF (carbon nanotube /polyviny lidene fluoride) composite film. We used polymer film as a matrix material for the flexible devices, and introduced CNTs for adding conductivity into the film resulting in obtaining performances of the antenna radiator. Spray coating method was used to form the CNT/PVDF composite radiator, and pattern formation of the radiator was done by shadow mask during the spray coating process. We investigated the electrical properties of the CNT/PVDF composite films with the CNT concentration, and also estimated the radiator performance. Finally we discuss the feasibility of the CNT/PVDF composite radiator for the flexible antenna.
The carbon nanotube / poly-vinylidene fluoride (CNT/PVDF) composite films for the nano-generator devices were fabricated by spray coating method using the CNT/PVDF solution, which was prepared by adding PVDF pellets into the CNT dispersed N-Methyl-2-pyrroli-done (NMP) solution. The flexible CNT/PVDF composite films were investigated by the scanning electron microscopy, which revealed that the CNTs were uniformly dispersed in the PVDF matrix and thickness of the films was approximately 20 jim. Fourier transform infra-red spectra were used to investigate crystal structure of the as-spray-coated CNT/PVDF films, and we found that they revealed extremely large portion of the f3 phase PVDF. The capacitance of the CNT/PVDF films increased by adding CNTs into the PVDF matrix, and finally saturated. However, the resistance didn`t show any saturation effect in the CNT concentration range of 0- 4 wt%. Finally, the resulting nano-generator devices revealed reasonable current output after given mechanical stress.
Abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNT) / polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric composite films for nanogenerator devices were fabricated by spray coating method. When the CNT/PVDF mixture solution passes through the spray nozzle with small diameter by the compressed nitrogen gas, electric charges are generated in the liquid by a triboelectric effect. Then randomly distributed {3 phase PVDF film could be re-oriented by the electric field resulting from the accumulated electrical charges, and might be resulted in extremely one-directionally aligned 13 phase PVDF film without additional electric field for poling. X-ray diffraction patterns were used to investigate crystal structure of the CNT/PVDF composite films. It was confirmed that they revealed extremely large portion of the f3 phase PVDF crystalline in the film. Therefore we could obtain the poled CNT/PVDF piezoelectric composite films by the spray coating method without additional poling process.
Recently the solution-based thin film technology has often been treated in the field of device fabrication owing to easy process and convenience for the development of various semiconductor devices and sensors. We deposited on glass substrate single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs)/silane hybrid thin films by multiple spray-coating which is one of solution-based processes, and examined their electrical response for humidity. Generally silane binders which are often mixed in carbon nanotube (CNT) solution to adhere CNTs to substrate well form easily each own functionalized group on the surface of CNTs after they are hardened by way of the hydrolysis reaction. In this work, we investigated how silane binders (TEOS (tetraethoxy silane), MTMS (methyltrimethoxysilane) and VTMS (vinyltrimethoxysilane)) in CNT thin films make effect to their electrical response on humidity. As the result, we found that the resistance in the samples using TEOS was changed dramatically while it was almost invariant in the samples using MTMS and VTMS for increasing humidity.