Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized with Carboxylic Acid for Fabricating Polymeric Composite Microstructures.

Carbon nanotube composites are promising materials for mechanical and electrical applications. However, methodologies to incorporate carbon nanotubes in polymeric matrices are on high demand, especially for fabricating devices in the micro-nanoscale. In this paper we show the fabrication of 3D polymeric microstructures with functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), by means of two-photon polymerization (2PP). We used a range of SWCNT concentrations (0.01-1 wt%) in the resin to fabricate the composite material. Scanning electron microscopy images show the fabricated microstructures surface quality. Raman spectroscopy was used to confirm the presence and evaluate the distribution of SWCNT in the microstructures. Atomic force microscopy was used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the fabricated microstructures.