Preparation of conductive transparent adhesive films from carbon nanomaterials and polar acrylate

Electrically conductive optically clear adhesives (ECOCAs) were prepared using a nanostructured carbon material (CMK-3(150)) as a conductive filler. The mesoporous carbon material, CMK-3(150), was synthesized using an ordered mesoporous silica template to produce inverse replica ordered mesoporous carbon material with an ∼10 nm pore diameter. An adhesive solution of acrylic monomers containing polar acrylate, CMK-3(150), and thermal initiator was reacted at 80 °C to prepare the ECOCA composite which had appropriate viscosity for further processing. The adhesive composite was adhered to various surfaces including ITO films upon thermal processing at 60 °C to afford a highly transparent and adhesive film. Tensile strength of the ECOCA films was increased with the contents of conductive filler up to 4 wt%. The percolation concentration of the CMK-3(150) in the composite was ∼7 wt%, which is much less than those of typical conductive fillers. The optimum content of CMK-3(150) to assure optical clarity, tensile strength, and high conductivity was 2-3 wt%.