Direct electrospray deposition of graphene onto paper and effect of binder on its surface resistance

J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2013 Oct;13(10):7108-11. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2013.7873.

Abstract

The electrospray-deposited patterns of graphene onto filter paper were characterized to study the effect of cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) binder on the surface resistance of the resulting paper. The amount of CAP determines the extent of penetration of graphene into the heterogeneous networks, because graphene gets anchored and crowded into the network with CAP. A graphene-dispersed ink was prepared in water using sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate, and this ink was used to fabricate graphene-coated paper (GCP) by electrospray deposition technique. The SEM images of the GCP revealed the impregnation of graphene into the filter paper. The mechanical properties and surface resistance of the GCP were studied using a universal testing machine (UTM) and indigenous four-probe meter, respectively. The low-cost GCP prepared in this study showed relatively low surface resistance (96.2 omega/sq) owing to the effective electro-conducting pathway provided by the crowded and impregnated deposition of grapheme onto the filter paper. Consequently, CAP improved the electrical and mechanical characteristics of GCP, even though only a small amount of graphene was used during deposition.