Multifunctional super-aligned carbon nanotube/polyimide composite film heaters and actuators

Abstract Polyimide (PI) is a high-performance polymer with ultrahigh heat stability while carbon nanotube (CNT) possesses high mechanical strength, excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. Here we report a facile and low-cost method free from CNT pre-dispersion for fabricating super-aligned carbon nanotube (SACNT)/PI composite film which combines the advantages of both SACNT and PI. Flexible and scratch-resistant composite film with high CNT content, uniform dispersion of CNTs, and controlled patterned CNT structures can be fabricated easily via in situ imidization. The SACNT/PI composite film exhibits improvement in mechanical strength, Young's modulus, electrical conductivity compared with pristine PI, and shows good thermal stability. Thanks to these superb properties, a flexible, stable, addressable, electromagnetic wave permeable, and high-temperature fast-response multifunctional heater as well as a thermo-mechanical actuator based on SACNT/PI composite film have been demonstrated in this paper. And it also shows great potential in a variety of applications such as flexible/wearable electronics, RFID, other thermo-related devices and so on.