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Z. Naturforsch. 67a, 679 – 684 (2012)
doi:10.5560/ZNA.2012-0072
Facile Synthesis and Electrical Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Nanosilver Composite
Hemant Pal1,4, Vimal Sharma1, Rajesh Kumar2, and Nagesh Thakur3
1 Department of Physics, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur (H.P.) 177005 India
2 Department of Physics, Jaypee University of Information and Technology, Solan, (H.P.), 173212 India
3 Department of Physics, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla (H.P.) 171005, India
4 Department of Physics, Govt. College Chowari, Chamba (H.P.), 176310, India
Received June 5, 2012 / revised July 20, 2012 / published online October 17, 2012
Reprint requests to: H.P.; E-mail: hemantpal76@gmail.com
Metal matrix nanocomposites reinforced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have become popular in industrial applications. Due to their excellent thermophysical and mechanical properties, CNTs are considered as attractive filler for the improvement in properties of metals. In the present work, we have synthesized noncovalently functionalized CNT reinforced nanosilver composites by using a modified molecular level mixing method. The structure and morphology of nanocomposites are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The electrical conductivity of silver-CNT nanocomposites measured by the four-point probe method is found to be more than that of the pure nanosilver. The significant improvement in electrical conductivity of Ag/CNT nanocomposites stems from homogenous and embedded distribution of CNTs in a silver matrix with intact structure resulting from noncovalent functionalization. The low temperature sintering also enhances the electrical conductivity of Ag/CNT nanocomposites.
Key words: Ag/CNT; Nanocomposite; Molecular Level Mixing; Electrical Conductivity; Noncovalent Functionalization.
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