Effect of Surface Oxidation on the Mechanics of a Carbon Nanotube Laden Interface

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have excellent thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties. Unfortunately, there is a lack of processing techniques for effectively integrating CNTs into macroscopic materials. Many processing techniques, especially those involving multiphase fluids, cause CNTs to interact with liquid/liquid or liquid/air interfaces. Currently, additional understanding is required that links CNT surface properties with interfacial properties, such as surface pressure, viscosity and elasticity, of a CNT laden interface. This presentation will summarize our work seeking to control the properties of a CNT laden interface via the CNT surface chemistry. We conducted surface pressure measurements along with optical microscopy on interfaces laden with CNTs of systematically varied surface chemistry. We found a correlation between extent of oxidation and interfacial elasticity. Our work demonstrates the relationship between the mechanical properties, microstructure, and surface chemistry of a CNT laden interface.