High conductivity and ultraviolet band transparency of single-walled carbon nanotube films bridged with gold nanoparticles

We report the fabrication of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) films bridged with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) that exhibit high conductivity and transparency in the ultraviolet (UV) region. The film was obtained by annealing the Au films deposited onto quartz substrate by e-beam evaporation, followed by dip coating in SWNT-dispersed solution under different dipping cycles. The optical tranmittance spectrum of the film thus obtained shows a transmittance between 80.2 and 85% in the wavelength range of 350-600 nm. In addition, the SWNT film bridged with Au NPs shows an electrical conductivity of 1.72 mA at 5 V, which is about six-times higher than that of the SWNT film without Au NPs (0.29 mA). These results confirm that the Au NPs enhance the electrical conductivity of the SWNT network films, without compromising the optical transmittance.