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Synthesis of PEGylated single wall carbon nanotubes by a photoinitiated graft from polymerization
Author(s) -
Zhang Pu,
Henthorn David B.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.12108
Subject(s) - carbon nanotube , polymerization , materials science , polymer , surface modification , raman spectroscopy , chemical engineering , nanotube , grafting , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , nanomaterials , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , nanotechnology , covalent bond , selective chemistry of single walled nanotubes , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , optical properties of carbon nanotubes , composite material , optics , physics , engineering
A considerable amount of research has been devoted to carbon nanotubes because of their unique electrical, mechanical, optical, and chemical properties. Here, in this report, we introduce a novel, simple ultraviolet initiated “graft from” polymerization method to synthesize PEGylated carbon nanotubes. This grafting procedure significantly enhanced nanotube aqueous dispersibility and long term stability in solution. Mass of grafted polymer chains was easily modulated by adjusting polymerization reaction time, and nanomaterials containing up to 80% polymer by weight were synthesized. Nanotube morphology was characterized by SEM, TEM before and after the functionalization. In addition, the covalent bonding of polymer chains to the nanotubes structure was elucidated by Raman, ATR‐FTIR, and XPS spectroscopy. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010