Aligned Carbon Cones in Free-Standing UV-Curable Polymer Composite

A concept where an alternating electric field (dielectrophoresis) is used to assemble and align carbon nanocone particles (CNCs) into microscopic wires in self-supporting polymer films is demonstrated. The particle fraction is kept low (one-tenth of the percolation threshold of isotropic mixture), which allows uniform dispersion and efficient UV curing. The alignment leads to the conductivity enhancement of three to four orders of magnitude (from similar to 10(-7) to similar to 10(-3) S/m) in the alignment direction. It does not require passing current so the material can be isolated from the alignment electrodes. This prevents electrodes attaching to the film, if the film is adhesive in nature. The alignment can be done using either in-plane or out-of-plane geometries. It is proposed that this concept could be applied in areas such as electrostatic discharge applications where inexpensive conductive or dissipative materials and macroscopic uniformity are prerequisites. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 49: 399-403, 2011