One-step coating of silica onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes using polyethyleneimine for high electrical resistivity

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were uniformly coated with silica using polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a coupling agent without subjecting the surfaces of the MWCNTs to chemical modification, such as an amine treatment or chemical oxidation. PEI was physically adsorbed onto the MWCNTs, and the silica coating process was performed through a sol-gel reaction of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in ethanol under base catalytic conditions at room temperature. PEI was the best coupling agent for coating silica on MWCNTs among the various amphiphilic polymers and surfactant tested, which included Triton X-100, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyethylene glycol, and sodium dodecyl sulfate. During the sol-gel process using PEI as a coupling agent, silica could be uniformly formed on MWCNTs without any structural defects. As the amount of TEOS used was increased, the thickness of coated silica layer and electrical resistivity of MWCNTs also increased (up to 5.3×10¹⁰ Ω sq⁻¹) owing to the high surface coverage of silica on the MWCNTs.

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