Carbon nanotube arrays encapsulated into freely suspended flexible films

Abstract

The incorporation of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in the freely suspended layer-by-layer (LbL) membranes by using the micropatterned LbL surface as a template for nanotube assembly was presented. The micropatterned surface composed of alternating open-protected areas was formed by the microcontact printing followed by CNTs selective absorption onto the LbL multilayers. Stable dispersion of CNTs in aqueous solution was prepared by oxidation in nitric acid, filtration, and taking supernatant after high-speed centrifugation. It was observed that the removal of the protective polymer layer exposed electrostatically active surface areas, allowing further deposition of LbL multilayers resulting in carbon nanotube arrays sandwiched between LbL films.