STABILIZATION OF CARBON NANOTUBE COATINGS

• Main Authors: DUONG, ANTHONY D, CUCKSEY, CHAD M, HEINTZ, AMY M, JONES, RANDY L, CRENSHAW, MICHAEL D
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 11.05.2016
• Subjects: ADHESIVES; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F,C08G; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CABLES; CHEMICAL PAINT OR INK REMOVERS; CHEMISTRY; COATING COMPOSITIONS, e.g. PAINTS, VARNISHES ORLACQUERS; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; CONDUCTORS; CORRECTING FLUIDS; DYES; ELECTRICITY; FILLING PASTES; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; INKS; INSULATORS; METALLURGY; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; NATURAL RESINS; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PAINTS; PASTES OR SOLIDS FOR COLOURING OR PRINTING; POLISHES; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING ORDIELECTRIC PROPERTIES; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; USE OF MATERIALS THEREFOR; WOODSTAINS; WORKING-UP

A method of making CNT films is described in which the film is washed with a mild acid treatment. The method generates a CNT film that is not sensitive to moisture or fluctuations in moisture. The method involves the use of anionic polysaccharides or anionic glycosaminoglycans such as hyaluronic acid, sodium salt, as aqueous dispersing agents and their modification to a hydrophobic matrix after deposition. In the course of conducting the work described here, we made the surprising discovery that washing with an aqueous acidic solution resulted in a decrease in resistance through the material. The invention also includes CNT composites made by the inventive methods and a CNT composite comprising CNTs and anionic polysaccharides or anionic glycosaminoglycans further characterized by a low cationic content and a high conductivity and/or small CNT particle size as measured by SEM.