The Preparation of Thin Conductive Polyimide Foils for Nuclear Targets

Thin and conductive plastic foils are of great interest to the target preparation and nuclear physics communities as a backing support for neutron-induced reaction measurements. This paper describes the preparation and characterization of thin, freestanding conductive polyimide films with an areal density suitable for target preparation in nuclear chemistry applications. The films were fabricated by blending a variety of graphene-based nanoparticles, a custom-made graphene suspension, and carbon nanotubes within a polymer matrix. The fabrication of freestanding polyimide films with an areal density of 30 μg/cm² (∼210 nm) was both time-consuming and difficult. Here, a novel approach is described that employs a sacrificial layer and graphene material to make thin (pure and conductive) polyimide foils readily available within 24 h.