Electrothermal Bonding of Carbon Nanotubes to Glass

Sriharsha V. Aradhya, Purdue University
Suresh Garimella, School of Mechanical Engineering
Timothy Fisher, Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University

Abstract

Applications that exploit the exceptional properties of carbon nanotubes CNTs[1] at practical length scales almost invariably involve the fundamental issues of nanotube-to-surface contacts; indeed, interface properties often dominate mechanical, electrical, and thermal performance in devices and materials based on CNTs. In this paper we present a method to attach CNTs to glass surfaces and investigate the mechanism of bonding at the interface. An electric field which induces migration of alkali ions from glass into CNTs, with a reversed polarity as compared to an analogous anodic bonding configuration, is employed to form a chemical bond between nanotubes and glass. We report a pull-off force of 4.35 N/cm2 averaged over the bonded area, with the possibility of localized areas of higher bonding strength.