Diazonium salt treated single-walled carbon nanotube thin films with high piezoresistive sensitivity

Due to a lack of efficient load transfer, the Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) thin film based piezoresisitve sensor typically has a low sensitivity. In this study, a simple method that invovles diazonium salt treament of a pristine SWCNT thin film was developed to enhance the load transfer efficiency of SWCNTs. As compared to the pristine thin film sensor, the gauge factor of the diazonium salt treated SWCNT thin films exhibited a ∼264% increase. Spectroscopy, microscopy, and in particular, the coupled mechanical-stretching and Raman scattering characterizations were performed to understand the diazonium salt treatment induced piezoresistivity enhancement of SWCNT thin films.