Yu Zhilong, Zhang Chier, Chen Mingtao, Huang Jiaxing
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou 310030, PR China.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710129, PR China.
PNAS Nexus. 2025 Aug 22;4(9):pgaf274. doi: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf274. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Uniform dispersion of carbon nanotubes in a polymer matrix is a prerequisite for high-performance nanotube-based composites. Here, we report an in situ polymerization route to synthesize a range of phenolic composites with high loading of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs, >40 wt%) and continuously tunable viscoelasticity. SWCNTs can be directly and uniformly dispersed in cresols through noncovalent charge-transfer interactions without the need for surfactants, and further concentrated before in situ polymerization of the solvent molecules, yielding phenolic composites in the forms of conductive pastes, highly stretchy doughs, and hardened solids with high nanotube loading and much enhanced electrical conductivity (up to 2.7 × 10 S m). These conducting phenolic composites provide a versatile material foundation for many areas. As a proof of concept, the conductive paste is used to construct ultrasensitive motion sensors that can operate at unprecedently low voltages (e.g. 0.1-10 mV). Moreover, the ease of processing and shaping of phenolic composite solids from the dough state is demonstrated.
碳纳米管在聚合物基体中的均匀分散是高性能碳纳米管基复合材料的前提条件。在此，我们报道了一种原位聚合路线，用于合成一系列具有高负载单壁碳纳米管（SWCNTs，>40 wt%）且粘弹性可连续调节的酚醛复合材料。单壁碳纳米管可通过非共价电荷转移相互作用直接且均匀地分散在甲酚中，无需表面活性剂，并且在溶剂分子原位聚合之前进一步浓缩，从而得到导电浆料、高弹性面团和具有高纳米管负载量及显著增强电导率（高达2.7×10 S m）的硬化固体形式的酚醛复合材料。这些导电酚醛复合材料为许多领域提供了通用的材料基础。作为概念验证，导电浆料用于构建可在前所未有的低电压（例如0.1 - 10 mV）下运行的超灵敏运动传感器。此外，还展示了酚醛复合固体从面团状态易于加工和成型的特性。
