Aligned Carbon Nanotubes Embedded in Elastic Polymer as Stretchable Conductors

ORAL

Abstract

Stretchable electronics enable new applications in a wide range of fields. Carbon nanotube (CNT) ribbons, composed of bundles of aligned millimeter-long CNTs, represent a unique opportunity for high performance stretchable conductors. In this work, we embedded CNT ribbons in elastic poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) film (or CNT/PDMS films) and systematically investigated the dependence of film resistance on the tensile strains. The CNT/PDMS films fabricated by this approach are flexible, transparent, and show constant resistance under strains in the range of 0{\%}-100{\%}. We believe that the unique stretchability of CNT ribbons reported here will open new potential applications of CNTs in the next generation intelligent electronics.

Authors

  • Yingying Zhang

    • Los Alamos National Laboratory
  • Quanxi Jia