Electronic Properties of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Networks

We present a study on the electronic behavior of films of as-prepared and purified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and demonstrate the important role that chemical functionalization plays in modifying their electronic properties, which in turn throws further light on the mechanism of action of SWNT-based sensors. Films of electric arc SWNTs were prepared by spraying, and optical spectroscopy was used to measure the effective film thickness. The room-temperature conductivities (sigma(RT)) of thin films deposited from as-prepared and purified SWNTs are in the range sigma(RT) = 250-400 S/cm, and the nonmetallic temperature dependence of the conductivity indicates the presence of tunneling barriers, which dominate the film conductivity. Chemical functionalization of SWNTs with octadecylamine (ODA) and poly(m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) (PABS) significantly decreases the conductivity; sigma(RT) = 3 and 0.3 S/cm for SWNT-ODA and SWNT-PABS, respectively.