Dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes by DNA for preparing transparent conductive films

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed by pristine DNA and denatured DNA were used to prepare transparent conductive films on PET substrates by a vacuum filtration and spray coating method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to characterize the dispersion state of SWCNT solutions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy were used to investigate the interaction between SWCNTs and DNA. It was found that both pristine and denatured DNA could effectively disperse SWCNTs. Acid treatment on SWCNT films degraded and removed DNA molecules effectively. The sheet resistance of SWCNT-DNA films was reduced by a factor of 2.5–10 times after acid treatment while the change of transmittance was negligible over the visible region. Films with high performance (95 Ω/sq, 78%) and good stability have been obtained.