Metal Decorated Carbon-Based Materials for Transparent Conductive Thin Films

A facile approach to decorate carbon-based materials, such as graphene oxides (GOx) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), with metal nanoparticles was developed to enhance the electrical conductivity of coated thin films.  CNTs were first surface-functionalized with hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carboxyl functional groups using a simple and green method without strong acid.  The as-prepared CNTs were then dispersed in solvents and coated on PET or glass substrates to form conductive thin films.  Copper or silver nanoparticles were then decorated on the functionalized CNT films using formaldehyde as a reduction agent. The microstructures of metallized thin films were characterized by FESEM, XRD, and UV measurements. The electrical and mechanical properties of the composite thin films were measured and compared with regular CNT films.  The results showed that electrical conductivity of CNT thin films were greatly enhanced after the metallization process.  This simple method can be also applied to two-dimensional nanostructured GOx materials to provide thin films with both good transparency and conductivity.