1. This paper presents a method of improving electrical conductivity in composite materials by precipitating gold nanoparticles onto carbon nanotubes.
2. The concentrations of CNTs and poly (vinyl acetate) were respectively 60 and 10 vol%, with four different gold concentrations used to compare the influence on electrical conductivity and thermopower of the composites.
3. The high conductivity can be attributed to gold doping on CNT networks, with the electrical properties of composites made of different types of CNTs also compared.
The article is generally reliable and trustworthy, as it is an Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article published in PLOS ONE, which is a reputable scientific journal. The authors have provided sufficient evidence for their claims, such as citing relevant research papers and providing data from experiments conducted to support their findings. Furthermore, the authors have declared any potential conflicts of interest that may arise from their research, which adds to the trustworthiness of the article.
However, there are some points that could be improved upon in terms of trustworthiness and reliability. For example, while the authors have discussed possible risks associated with using gold nanoparticles in nanocomposites, they do not provide any information on how these risks can be mitigated or avoided. Additionally, while the authors have discussed various types of CNTs used in their experiments, they do not provide any information on how these different types may affect the results obtained from their experiments. Finally, while the authors have discussed various applications for CNTs such as FETs and solar cells, they do not provide any information on how these applications may benefit from using gold nanoparticles in nanocomposites.
In conclusion, this article is generally reliable and trustworthy due to its publication in a reputable scientific journal and its thorough discussion of evidence supporting its claims. However, there are some areas where more information could be provided to further improve its trustworthiness and reliability.