Improved mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of organogels containing carbon nanotubes

We have fabricated the first organogel/carbon nanotube composites using 12-hydroxystearic acid (HSA) as the gelator molecule, multi-wall carbon nanotubes as the nanofillers, and 1,2-dichlorobenzene as the organic solvent. We have achieved significant improvements in the mechanical and electrical properties of the organogels by incorporating pristine or carboxylated carbon nanotubes. For example, the linear viscoelastic regime of the HSA organogel, an indicator of the strength of the gel, extends by a factor of four with the incorporation of 0.2 wt% of the carboxylated nanotubes. Also, the carbon nanotubes (specially the pristine tubes) improve the electrical conductivity of the organogels, e.g. six orders of magnitude enhancement in electrical conductivity with 0.2 wt% of pristine tubes. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments indicate that the nanotubes do not affect the thermoreversibility of the organogels.