Electrically conductive polymeric materials with high stretchability and excellent elasticity by a surface coating method

Abstract

Electrically conductive polymer films with high stretchability and excellent elasticity were simply fabricated by coating a conductive layer on the surface of an elastomer film. The material used for the conductive layer was a high-shear processed poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene] triblock copolymer (SEBS)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposite with 20 wt.-% MWCNTs loading. The nanocomposites were first dissolved in toluene to form a stable solution and then were coated onto the SEBS film by spin coating. The alignment of MWCNTs in the coated layer and the interface between the base film and the coated layer were investigated. It was found that almost all the MWCNTs are aligned parallel to the base film and that there is good adhesion between the two layers. The fabricated films show high electrical conductivity and almost same stretchability and elasticity as the base film. Moreover, the films exhibit extremely high electrical conductive retention after applying high strain.