Effects of low-temperature sintering on surface morphology and electrical performance of silver nanoparticle/carbon nanotube composite films

Abstract

Silver nanoparticle (AgNP)/carbon nanotube (CNT) composites are drawing increasing attention for several applications, especially where transparency is required. However, interfacial interaction and stability of the AgNP/CNT composites have been scarcely investigated. In the present study, transparent coatings were prepared from dispersed AgNP-coated multiwalled CNTs and exposed to different sintering conditions. The changes in surface morphology and evolution of interfacial configuration of AgNP-decorated CNT transparent composite films were investigated. Under certain conditions, CNT ropes were glued to one another by the melted AgNP aggregates, resulting in the improvement of the measured electrical properties. The in situ measurements of the electrical properties allowed correlating the AgNPs sintering mechanism with the morphological observations. Notably, at a given temperature, increasing the initial film density increased the time necessary to complete the AgNPs sintering. The obtained results show that the electrical resistance can be used as a tool to indirectly monitor the network state of transparent AgNP-decorated CNT composite films, hence paving the way to tuning the composite film properties with a high precision for the desired application. These findings also explain the mechanism of reinforcement of polymer nanocomposites by the current nanofillers.