Colored semitransparent conductive coatings consisting of monodisperse metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes

Nano Lett. 2008 May;8(5):1417-22. doi: 10.1021/nl080302f. Epub 2008 Apr 8.

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are promising materials for transparent conduction as a result of their exceptional electrical, optical, mechanical, and chemical properties. However, since current synthetic methods yield polydisperse mixtures of SWNTs, the performance of SWNT transparent conductive films has previously been hindered by semiconducting species. Here, we describe the performance of transparent conductors produced using predominantly metallic SWNTs. Compared with unsorted material, films enriched in metallic SWNTs can enhance conductivity by factors of over 5.6 in the visible and 10 in the infrared. Moreover, by using monodisperse metallic SWNTs sorted with angstrom-level resolution in diameter, semitransparent conductive coatings with tunable optical transmittance can be produced.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Color*
  • Crystallization / methods*
  • Electric Conductivity
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemistry
  • Materials Testing
  • Membranes, Artificial*
  • Metals / chemistry*
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / ultrastructure*
  • Nanotechnology / methods*
  • Particle Size
  • Refractometry
  • Surface Properties

Substances

  • Macromolecular Substances
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Metals