Conducting transparent thin films based on Carbon Nanotubes — Conducting Polymers

Abstract

The present work reports on the characterization and optimization of thin transparent and electrically conducting films (from 120 to 180 nm thick) based on single walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) and conducting polymers, polypyrrole (PPy) or polyaniline (PA). We obtained a number of different CNT‐PPy doped with PTS or PF6 and CNT‐PA under different parameters (electrodeposition time, density current or voltage) and analyzed the required properties, electrical conductivity and transparency, and other significant properties: Raman Spectroscopy, and AFM, from which we can estimate the film thickness. The electrochemical conditions for the polymer thin film deposition were studied in order to improve their conductivity and transparency.Compared to the well known transparent conducting oxides like ITO, the best of our composite thin films are from 10 to 100 times less conductive and highly transparent. As a great possibility, these conducting films could be prepared on a flexible substrate with a continuous deposition procedure.