• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.801-809
• /
• 2013

We investigate sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD) of trace copper (Cu) metal using pristine carbon nanotube (CNT) and acidified CNT (ACNT) electrodes. Squarewave based anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) is used to determine the stripped Cu concentration. Prior to performing the SWASV measurements, its optimal conditions are determined and with that, effects of potential scan rate and $Cu^{2+}$ concentration on stripping current are evaluated. The measurements indicate that (1) ACNT electrode shows better results than CNT electrode and (2) stripping is controlled by surface reaction. In the given $Cu^{2+}$ concentration range of 25-150 ppb, peak stripping current has linearity with $Cu^{2+}$ concentration. Quantitatively, sensitivity and LOD of Cu in ACNT electrode are 9.36 ${\mu}A\;{\mu}M^{-1}$ and 3 ppb, while their values are 3.99 ${\mu}A\;{\mu}M^{-1}$ and 3 ppb with CNT electrode. We evaluate the effect of three different water solutions (deionized water, tap water and river water) on stripping current and the confirm types of water don't affect the sensitivity of Cu. It turns out by optical inspection and cyclic voltammetry that superiority of ACNT electrode to CNT electrode is attributed to exfoliation of CNT bundles and improved interfacial adhesion occurring during oxidation of CNTs.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.267-272
• /
• 2012

Considering the properties of the carbon nano tubes (CNT), their inclusion into the polymer matrix vastly increases the properties of the resultant composite. However, this is not the case due to the poor interfacial adhesion of the CNT and the polymer matrix. The present approach focuses on increasing the interaction between the polymer matrix and the CNT through the chemical modification of the CNT resulting in allyl ester functionalized carbon nanotubes (ACNT) and silane functionalized carbon nano tubes (SCNT) which are capable of reacting with the polymer matrix during the curing reaction. The addition of ACNT/SCNT into unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) resulted in the improvement of the electrical properties of resulted nanocomposites in comparison to the CNT. The surface resistivity, volume resistivity, dielectric strength, dry arc resistivity, and the comparative tracking index of the nanocomposites were significantly improved in comparison to CNT. The chemical modification of CNT was confirmed via spectroscopy.