Optical, Mechanical, and Electrical Properties of Polymer Composites Doped by Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Three-dimensional networks can be hydrophilic and/or hygroscopic. Optical, mechanical, and electrical properties of these materials encompass many fields of technology. Composites of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polymeric materials have attracted considerable attention in the research and industrial communities due to their unique optical, mechanical, and electrical properties. CNT polymer nanocomposites possess high stiffness, high strength, and good electrical conductivity at relatively low concentrations of CNT filler. Here, in this chapter, we survey the optical, mechanical, and electrical mechanisms for various polymeric systems. Composite gels and films were prepared with various molar percentages of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The optical, mechanical, and electrical behaviors of various composite gels doped by MWCNT are also discussed in the each sections of the chapter. The optical behaviors of the composites were performed by the UV-Vis spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy in the first part of the chapter. On the other hand, compressive testing technique and rheological measurements were employed to determine the variations of mechanical properties of the composites in the second part of the chapter. Lastly, we review the electrical properties of the composites improved significantly by addition of MWCNTs researches.