Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Polymer Composite Thin Film for Flow Sensor Application

Abstract

We report a fabrication method for a composite thin-fi lm fl ow sensor including a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) network and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which is immersed in deionized water and NaCl solution.The morphology of SWCNTs on the surface of the composite thin fi lm is characterized by scanning electron microscopy.The induced voltage generated along the direction of the fl owing liquid depends signifi cantly on the liquid concentration and fl ow velocity.Since the SWCNTs are coated with polymer chains and fi xed into the PDMS matrix, the I-V curves of the composite thin fi lm are completely coincident before and after several fl ow velocity measurements, and the repeated flow-induced voltage experiment shows that the composite thin fi lm has a reliable electrical characteristic and a wide potential of device application.