Current Applied Physics, Vol.12, No.2, 467-472, 2012
The effect of bernard-marangoni convection on percolation threshold in amorphous polymer-multiwall carbon nanotube composites
The electrical conductivity of amorphous polymer/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite films strongly depends on the Bernard-Marangoni (B-M) instability during solvent evaporation. We demonstrate that the films exhibit the lowest surface resistivity and the highest light transmittance near the onset point of B-M instability. The polymer/MWCNT composite films exhibit three-dimensional behavior in spite of the B-M instability. The percolation threshold for PC/MWCNT composite films at stable, onset, and unstable condition is 3.3 x 10(-3), 2.75 x 10(-3), and 5.15 x 10(-3) vol.%, respectively. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.