AC conductivity of polymer composites: an efficient confirmatory tool for qualifying crude multi-walled carbon nanotube-samples

TL;DR

This paper proposes that AC conductivity measurements of MWNT-polymer composites serve as an effective, rapid method for assessing the quality and structural features of crude multi-walled carbon nanotube samples, aiding in their qualification.

Contribution

It introduces a new protocol using AC conductivity to distinguish graphite from MWNTs and quantify structural disorder, improving MWNT quality assessment.

Findings

AC conductivity effectively differentiates graphite from MWNTs.

The method quantifies the degree of structural disorder in MWNT samples.

Provides a rapid, quantitative tool for MWNT qualification.

Abstract

The present communication highlights that ac conductivity measurement of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)-polymer composites is a very promising characterizing tool for qualifying any crude MWNT-sample synthesized by electric arc. It distinguishes graphite structures from that of the MWNTs and reflects the relative amount of nearly one-dimensional structures and disorders present within the samples. This new protocol would help in evolving more direct and quantitative criteria for qualification of MWNTs synthesized through diverse techniques and will definitely add up to the conceptual understanding in visualizing the exact roles of different controlling parameters affecting the growth of MWNTs.