MWCNT-coated cellulose nanopapers: Droplet-coating, process factors, and electrical conductivity performance

Mahdi Mashkour; Maryam Sharifinia; Hossein Yousefi; Elyas Afra

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.09.006

MWCNT-coated cellulose nanopapers: Droplet-coating, process factors, and electrical conductivity performance

Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Dec 15:202:504-512. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.09.006. Epub 2018 Sep 12.

Authors

Mahdi Mashkour¹, Maryam Sharifinia², Hossein Yousefi², Elyas Afra²

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Sustainable Nanomaterials, Faculty of Wood and Paper Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, 49189-43464, Iran. Electronic address: mashkour@gau.ac.ir.
² Laboratory of Sustainable Nanomaterials, Faculty of Wood and Paper Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, 49189-43464, Iran.

PMID: 30287029
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.09.006

Abstract

Electrically conductive cellulose nanopapers (EC-CNPaps) were fabricated by the droplet-coating of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on cellulose nanopapers (CNPaps), and the effects of the process factors on the electrical conductivity of EC-CNPaps were investigated. The type of CNPaps (made of softwood nanofibrillated cellulose or bacterial cellulose nanofibres), the drying methods of CNPaps (air drying, freeze drying, and oven drying), the applied method for the stabilisation and the concentration of MWCNT-water solutions, and the droplet-coating temperatures (≈23 °C and ≈60 °C) were the examined variable factors. Overall, the oven-dried nanofibrillated cellulose paper as a substrate, 0.1 wt. % of the gum Arabic stabilised MWCNT-water solution ink, and the droplet coating at 60 °C were introduced as the optimum conditions of the examined process factors in this study.

Keywords: Cellulose nanopaper; Droplet-coating; Electrical conductivity; Multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT); Process factors.