Flexible free-standing carbon nanotube films for model lithium-ion batteries

A comparative study of conductive, free-standing, binder-free flexible films made from three different types of commercial carbon nanotubes (CNTs), i.e., single-wall, double-wall, and multi-wall was carried out. The conductive CNT films were prepared by adding the CNTs to the starting dispersion of carbon black and Triton X-100, followed by a vacuum filtration technique. These films have been characterized as model free-standing, binder-free electrodes for flexible lithium-ion batteries. Our experiments revealed that films based on multi-wall CNTs (MWCNTs) are much better than single-wall and double-wall CNTs films in terms of their electrochemical performance. The flexible MWCNT electrodes show stable cycling behavior and allow up to a 10 C-rate.