Morphology, Electrical Conductivity of Novel Graphite Nanoplatelets-Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Nanopaper

In this study, a unique concept of manufacturing hybrid graphite nanoplatelets (GNP)-carbon nanotube (CNT) nanopapers for electrical application has been explored. The new approach includes making hybrid GNP-CNT nanopapers by the filtration of well-dispersed GNPs-CNT suspension through high pressure systems. The hybrid GNP-CNT nanopapers vary from GNP-dominated structures to CNT-dominated structures depending on the weight ratio. The morphologies of as-prepared hybrid nanopapers were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that the hybrid nanopapers have porous and highly entangled structures. The extent of flatness of the surface of the hybrid nanopaper changed with the weight ratio. Electrical resistance of the hybrid nanopapers was measured by the four-point probe apparatus. It shows that in the GNP-dominated hybrid nanopapers, the surface electrical resistivity increases with the increase of CNT fraction in the hybrid nanopapers; whereas, in CNT-dominated hybrid nanopapers, the surface electrical resistivity decreases with increase of GNP fraction. This finding indicates that the GNP has a great promise as an alternative to CNT in electical applications.