Sulfonated Polyetheretherketone as Efficient Stabilizers for SWNTs and Their Incorporation Into Nanocomposites through Layer-by-Layer Assembly for Ultrastrong and Conductive Materials

Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWNT) has aroused lots of interest due to its exceptional mechanical, electrical or thermal properties. Attempts to incorporate them into composites have always impeded by the bundling and entanglements between individual SWNTs. We developed here a method to efficiently disperse SWNTs in aqueous solutions by Sulfonated polyetheretherketone, followed by a transfer to solid films maintaining SWNT dispersible states in solution through layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly. High loadings of SWNTs were achieved in the film and electrical conductivity is over 10^4 S/m. Films with a thickness of 1 micron were fabricated and the mechanical strength can be as high as 400MPa. Much thicker films can be fabricated by consolidation of several pieces of films together.