Anti-scratch and transparency properties of transparent conductive carbon nanotube films improved by incorporating polyethoxysiloxane.

Transparent conductive films of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were fabricated by a simple method to significantly enhance anti-scratch and transparency properties by the incorporation of polyethoxysiloxane (PES). The reasons for changes in the mechanical properties and transmittance were investigated through the reflection property and morphology of thin films. With the incorporation of PES, the sheet resistance of the SWCNT thin film remained unchanged after the anti-scratch test. It was found that the transmittance of the thin films suddenly increased when the thickness of the PES layer was ca 100 nm. Although the PES incorporation resulted in a slight increase in the sheet resistance, the experimental results revealed that the sheet resistance of the SWCNT thin films with PES was lower than that of films without PES for the same transmittance due to the increase of the transmittance caused by the PES incorporation. We have demonstrated that the sheet resistance was halved at a transmittance of ∼86% due to PES incorporation. SWCNT thin films with PES showed better electrical properties than those without PES after a bend test.