Properties of polyacrylonitrile/single wall carbon nanotube composite films prepared in nitric acid

Abstract

Nanocomposite films were prepared by casting the solution of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and single wall nanotube (SWNT) in nitric acid subsequent to sonication. Even though SWNT shows good dispersion visually, the reinforcing effect was not satisfactory. The G-band Raman spectra of the drawn film clearly demonstrated that SWNTs in the film are well-oriented along the drawing axis of the film. The electrical resistivity of the film prepared using nitric acid was lower than that of the film using DMF. Thus, nitric acid is presumably more effective in dispersing nanotubes than DMF.