Web Release Date: August 2,
Characterizing the Morphologies of Mechanically Manipulated Multiwall Carbon Nanotube
Films by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering
and
Departments of Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Received: March 5, 2007
In Final Form: June 5, 2007
Abstract:
We used small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to quantitatively characterize the morphological characteristics of pristine and mechanically manipulated multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films. We determined that CNT diameters measured near the edges of a film were smaller compared to those measured in the interior. Uniaxially compressed MWCNT films exhibited a buckling deformation that was observable both in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SAXS. CNT films were also converted into cellular foams of CNTs through capillarity-induced densification. By examining spatially- and time-resolved SAXS data for the cellular foams, we identified low angle features in the scattering curves that correspond to the average spacing between CNTs, demonstrating that SAXS is a useful method for monitoring the packing density of CNTs in a film. For all of the morphologies that were examined (aligned, disordered, compressed, and densified), SAXS data showed good correspondence with SEM images.
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