In functional coatings, carbon nanotube vertical arrays are a new type of material. After modification or pretreatment, they have been widely used in transportation, construction, equipment, petrochemicals and other fields. If the application field of carbon nanotube materials is to be expanded, it is also necessary to improve the purification, modification, characterization, and assembly of carbon nanotubes:
(1) There are still certain defects in the preparation technology of carbon nanotubes. The production cost is too high, and the product purity is low, which seriously limits the promotion of carbon nanotubes. Therefore, the preparation technology of carbon nanotubes first needs to explore its high-purity, high-quality large-scale preparation method, and secondly reduce the production cost of carbon nanotubes.
(2) Although the large aspect ratio and specific surface area of carbon nanotubes have many advantages, there are strong van der Waals forces between their particles, which are easy to adsorb and agglomerate with each other. In order to ensure the normal use of coatings, a good dispersion effect is very critical. Therefore, exploring the dispersion conditions of carbon nanotubes in coatings is an important way to solve this problem.
(3) Functional coatings are often used outdoors in harsh environments. Therefore, the interfacial adhesion between carbon nanotubes and the film-forming substrate needs to be further improved. Modification and other measures should be taken to enhance the adhesion between the two phases to ensure the service life of the coating.
(4) The specific application of carbon nanotubes in different types of functional coatings is not completely clear. The research on dosage, shape, mechanism of action, etc. is relatively vague. In the future, it is necessary to explore the optimal use conditions of carbon nanotubes in various coatings according to the effects of different coatings.