Flexographic printed carbon nanotubes on polycarbonate films yielding high heating rates

Carbon nanotube (CNT) formulations based on commercially available aqueous dispersions were printed using flexographic printing on a polycarbonate film which was provided with a polyethyleneimine-based primer layer to improve the wetting and adhesion properties. Depending on the formulation, the structured CNT layers (35 mm × 50 mm) show heating rates of up to 14 K/s during resistive heating (applied voltage of 12 V) in the temperature range from room temperature to 70°C. The recording of temperature–time curves was carried out by means of an infrared camera system. The cooling largely depends on the substrate and its heat capacity as well as on environmental conditions, and could be actively supported and/or regulated. The formulations of different solid contents were described in terms of viscosity and surface tension while the printed layers were characterized regarding the mass load per area, sheet resistance, electrical power effective during resistive heating, and the layer morphology. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013