Spray-Coated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Composite Electrodes for Thermal Energy Scavenging Electrochemical Cells.

Spray-coated multiwalled carbon nanotube/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (MWCNT/PVDF) composite electrodes, scCNTs, with varying CNT compositions (2 to 70 wt %) are presented for use in a simple thermal energy-scavenging cell (thermocell) based on the ferro/ferricyanide redox couple. Their utility for direct thermal-to-electrical energy conversion is explored at various temperature differentials and cell orientations. Performance is compared to that of buckypaper, a 100% CNT sheet material used as a benchmark electrode in thermocell research. The 30 to 70 wt % scCNT composites give the highest power output by electrode area-seven times greater than buckypaper at ΔT = 50 °C. CNT utilization is drastically enhanced in our electrodes, reaching 1 W gCNT(-1) compared to 0.036 W gCNT(-1) for buckypaper. Superior performance of our spray-coated electrodes is attributed to both wettability with better use of a large portion of electrochemically active CNTs and minimization of ohmic and thermal contact resistances. Even composites with as low as 2 wt % CNTs are still competitive with prior art. The MWCNT/PVDF composites developed herein are inexpensive, scalable, and serve a general need for CNT electrode optimization in next-generation devices.

Photoinduced p- to n-type Switching in Thermoelectric Polymer-Carbon Nanotube Composites.

UV-induced switching from p- to n-type character is demonstrated during deposition of carbon-nanotube-conjugated polymer composites. This opens the possibility to photopattern n-type regions within an otherwise p-type film, which has a potential for complementary circuitry or, as shown here, thermoelectric generators made from a single solution.

Continuous Processing of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Studded Carbon Fiber Tapes for Enhanced Through-Thickness Thermal Diffusivity Composites.

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites offer advantages over traditional metallic structures, particularly specific strength and stiffness, but at much reduced thermal conductivity. Moreover, fiber-to-fiber heat conduction in the composite transverse directions is significantly lower. When these structures contain electronics (heat generators), shortfalls in heat transport can be problematic. Here we report the achievement of a continuous, reel-to-reel process for growing short multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on the surfaces of spread-tow carbon fiber tapes. These tapes were subsequently prepregged with an epoxy matrix, and laid up into multi-ply laminate panels, cured and tested for through-thickness thermal diffusivity. The results showed up to a 57% increase in through thickness thermal diffusivity compared to the baseline composite with no MWCNT.