Electroconductive textile coatings from pastes based on individualized multi-wall carbon nanotubes – Synergy of surfactant and nanotube aspect ratio

We report on preparation, application and fixation of electrically conductive and flexible coatings of surface resistivity 110 Ω/sq. The most promising coatings were obtained from pastes exploiting synthesized in-house – via chemical catalytic vapour deposition (c-CVD)– 200 μm-long multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). MWCNTs were finely dispersed in water using a surfactant pre-selected according to 'individualizing' power measured by centrifugation-stability in UV–vis spectroscopy. The influence of MWCNT aspect ratio on: the resulting dispersion stabilities, and physicochemical compatibilities of nanotubes with aqueous solutions of surfactants was clearly demonstrated by comparative studies of individualized in-house (aspect ratio = 3000) versus commercial Nanocyl NC7000TM (aspect ratio = 150) MWCNTs. The individualized MWCNTs were used as the further conductive components of acrylic resin-based pastes towards flexible and conductive textile coatings. The results fall within the understanding of production of conductive coatings for e-textiles – the field with numerous every-day life applications from medicine, e.g. in electrocardiography, to fashion to military.