Performance of nanocomposites stacked with carbon nanotubes and Nafion films

Nanocomposites stacked layer-by-layer with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), referred to as CNT–Nafion™, are prepared using a spray and reproducible spin-cast deposition methodology. The CNTs used for the nanocomposite film were cylindrical with diameters in the range of 10–15 nm and lengths of up to several micrometers. The CNTs had a high purity of more than 95%. CNT–Nafion™ nanocomposites with uniformly spray-coated CNTs provide sufficiently high electrical conductivity throughout, and show enhanced mechanical strength due to laterally aligned CNTs between each interface of the spin-coated Nafion film. Our results indicate that such a layer-by-layer film composed of CNTs and Nafion™ is suitable for potential transducer applications at the microscale.