Carbon Nanotube Composition, Composite Having a Coated Film Composed of the Same, and Their Production Methods

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide a carbon nanotube composition that does not impair the characteristics of the carbon nanotubes itself, allows the carbon nanotubes to be dispersed or solubilized in a solvent, does not cause separation or aggregation of the carbon nanotubes even during long-term storage, has superior electrical conductivity, film formability and moldability, can be easily coated or covered onto a base material, and the resulting coated film has superior moisture resistance, weather resistance and hardness; a composite having a coated film composed thereof; and, their production methods. In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a carbon nanotube composition that contains a conducting polymer (a) or heterocyclic compound trimer (i), a solvent (b) and carbon nanotubes (c), and may additionally contain a high molecular weight compound (d), a basic compound (e), a surfactant (f), a silane coupling agent (g) and colloidal silica (h) as necessary; a composite having a coated film composed of the composition; and, their production methods.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a carbon nanotube composition, a composite having a coated film composed of the same, and their production methods.BACKGROUND ART[0002]Ever since carbon nanotubes were first discovered by Iijima, et al. in 1991 (S. Iijima, Nature, 354, 56 (1991)), their physical properties have been evaluated and their functions have been elucidated, and extensive research and development have been conducted on their application. However, since carbon nanotubes are produced in an entangled state, they have the shortcoming of being extremely bothersome to handle. In the case of mixing into resins and solutions, there is also the problem of the carbon nanotubes becoming increasingly aggregated, thereby preventing them from demonstrating their inherent characteristics.[0003]Consequently, attempts have been made to uniformly disperse or solubilize carbon nanotubes in solvents or resins by subjecting them to physical treatment or chemical modification...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]The object of the present invention is to provide a carbon nanotube composition that does not impair the characteristics of the carbon nanotubes itself, allows the carbon nanotubes to be dispersed or solubilized in water, organic solvents, water-containing organic solvents and other solvents, does not cause separation or aggregation of the carbon nanotubes even during long-term storage, has superior electrical conductivity, film formability and moldability, can be easily coated or covered onto a base material, and the resulting coated film has superior moisture resistance, weather resistance and hardness. The object of the present invention is also to provide a composite having a coated film comprising the carbon nanotube composition as well as production methods of the carbon nanotube composition and the coated film.

[0008]As a result of extensive research to solve these problems, the inventor of the present invention found that carbon nanotubes can be dispersed or solubilized in solvent by placing in the presence of a conducting polymer, thereby leading to completion of the present invention.

Problems solved by technology

However, since carbon nanotubes are produced in an entangled state, they have the shortcoming of being extremely bothersome to handle.

In the case of mixing into resins and solutions, there is also the problem of the carbon nanotubes becoming increasingly aggregated, thereby preventing them from demonstrating their inherent characteristics.

However, since treatment is carried out in strong acid, the procedure is complex and not suitable for industrial applications, while the dispersion effects cannot be said to be adequate.

However, in this method, since long-chain alkyl groups are introduced into single-walled carbon nanotubes by covalent bonding, there was still the problem of damage to the graphene sheet structure of the carbon nanotubes and effects on the characteristics of the carbon nanotubes itself.

According to this method, although damage to the graphene sheet structure is inhibited due to the non-covalent bonding chemical modification, since non-conducting pyrene compounds are present, there is the problem of a decrease in the conductivity of the resulting carbon nanotubes.

Images