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Nanotube Dispersions (nanotube + dispersion)
Kinds of Nanotube Dispersions Selected AbstractsA General Strategy to Disperse and Functionalize Carbon Nanotubes Using Conjugated Block CopolymersADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 3 2009Jianhua Zou Abstract A general strategy to disperse and functionalize pristine carbon nanotubes in a single-step process is developed using conjugated block copolymers. The conjugated block copolymer contains two blocks: a conjugated polymer block of poly(3-hexylthiophene), and a functional non-conjugated block with tunable composition. When the pristine carbon nanotubes are sonicated with the conjugated block copolymers, the poly(3-hexylthiophene) blocks bind to the surface of de-bundled carbon nanotubes through non-covalent ,,, interactions, stabilizing the carbon nanotube dispersion, while the functional blocks locate at the outer surface of carbon nanotubes, rendering the carbon nanotubes with desired functionality. In this paper, conjugated block copolymers of poly(3-hexylthiophene)- b -poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(3-hexylthiophene)- b -poly(acrylic acid), and poly(3-hexylthiophene)- b -poly(poly(ethylene glycol) acrylate) are used to demonstrate this general strategy. [source] Influence of carbon nanotube dispersion on the mechanical properties of phenolic resin compositesPOLYMER COMPOSITES, Issue 2 2010R.B. Mathur Despite the much touted mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, composites reinforced with nanotubes have failed to achieve mechanical properties which rival those present in conventional fiber reinforced polymer composites. This article describes an attempt to bridge this gap. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were synthesized using a chemical vapor deposition method and were dispersed in phenolic resin by both the wet and dry dispersion techniques before molding into composite bars (50 × 5 × 3 mm3). Although no improvement in the mechanical properties of the MWCNT/phenolic composites was observed over the neat resin value when wet mixing dispersion was employed, an improvement of nearly 158% (160 MPa as compared with 62 MPa for neat resin) was achieved in 5 vol% MWCNT containing phenolic resin prepared by the dry mixing. POLYM. COMPOS., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] Influence of initial mixing methods on melt-extruded single-walled carbon nanotube,polypropylene nanocompositesPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 9 2010Vinod K. Radhakrishnan We report the first direct comparison of melt-extruded polypropylene,single-walled carbon nanotube (PP/SWNT) nanocomposites prepared by three different initial mixing methods. The standard deviation of the G-band intensity obtained using Raman mapping was found to be the best measure of dispersion uniformity in the extruded composites, and dispersion uniformity was found to generally correlate with rheological and thermal properties. For all three initial mixing methods, both unmodified and sidewall-functionalized purified SWNTs were evaluated. Surprisingly, in all cases, dodecylated SWNTs prepared using the reductive alkylation method were less uniformly dispersed in the final composite than the unmodified SWNTs. The simplest process, dry blending, resulted in poor nanotube dispersion and only polymer crystallization was significantly affected by the presence of the nanotubes. A slightly more complex rotary evaporation process resulted in significantly more uniform dispersion and significant changes in rheological properties, polymer crystallization, and thermal stability. The most elaborate process tested, hot coagulation, enabled the most uniform dispersion and the greatest change in properties but also resulted in some polymer degradation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 50:1831,1842, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] Nanotube Surfactant Design: The Versatility of Water-Soluble Perylene BisimidesADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 7 2010Claudia Backes Abstract The synthesis of perylene-based single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) surfactants and the dispersion and exfoliation of SWCNTs in water by a variety of designed surfactants is investigated. The quality of the nanotube dispersions is evaluated by optical absorption and emission spectroscopy, zeta-potential measurements and statistical atomic force microscopy (AFM). Significantly the dispersion efficiency can be increased at higher pH, as water solubility of the surfactants is ensured by peripheral derivatization with carboxyl-functionalized first- and second-order Newkome dendrimers. Even at very low perylene concentrations of 0.1,g L,1 and a nanotube-to-surfactant ratio of 1:1, the nanotube supernatant after centrifugation contains up to 73% of the pristine material with exfoliation degrees (the number of fractions of individualized nanotubes NI/NT) of up to 76%. The adsorption of the perylene core to the nanotube scaffold is indicated by red-shifted perylene-absorption and SWCNT-emission features except for the smallest perylene amphiphile, where solubilization is presumably based on a micellar arrangement. The nanotube fluorescence is significantly altered and reduced in intensity compared to nanotubes dispersed in sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) being strongly dependent on the structure of the perylene surfactant. We attribute this observation to the homogeneity of the surfactant coverage, e.g., the supramolecular arrangement onto the nanotube backbone. This study represents a step forward in understanding the structure,property relationship of nanotube surfactants. Furthermore high-quality nanotube dispersions with increased degrees of exfoliation are highly desirable, as the efficiency of nanotube separation techniques relies on highly individualized samples. [source] Size-Dependence and Elasticity of Liquid-Crystalline Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes,ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 16 2008Wenhui Song Profound size-effects of liquid-crystalline microstructures of multiwalled carbon nanotube dispersions are reported. The figure shows that nanotubes behave like rigid rods in the case of a low aspect ratio; however, they behave as flexible beams that deform easily following the local orientation in a liquid crystalline field if they are thin and/or long with a relatively high aspect ratio. [source] Atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation of cement pastes with nanotube dispersionsPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 6 2006Y. Sáez de Ibarra Abstract Since their discovery in 1991 by Iijima [1], carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have probably become the most promising nanomaterials due to their unique mechanical, electronic and chemical properties. Our aim is to improve the mechanical properties of cement pastes by the addition of CNTs, giving rise to a new and higher-performance composite material. To reach an efficient cement-based composite with nanotubes, we have studied the addition of different CNT concentrations in the mix design in order to obtain enhanced mechanical properties with respect to plain cement pastes. We have measured the micro-hardness and Young's modulus of the composites by nanoindenting with a sharp diamond three-sided pyramidal tip mounted on an Atomic Force Microscope probe. These measurements have been correlated with the average macroscopic Young's modulus. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Analysis and measurement of carbon nanotube dispersions: nanodispersion versus macrodispersionPOLYMER INTERNATIONAL, Issue 10 2010Micah J Green Abstract Because of their unique mechanical, optical, thermal and electrical properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) form the basis for a wide variety of multifunctional devices and materials; many of these applications require that CNTs be dispersed and processed in liquids such as organic solvents, polymer melts or surfactant solutions. One of the most problematic issues affecting the CNT research community is the lack of standards and uniform characterization methods for CNT dispersion. A 2005 NASA-NIST workshop aimed to address this issue and made a clear distinction between ,nanodispersion' of individual CNTs and ,macrodispersion' of CNT bundles. Unfortunately, this distinction has yet to percolate through the CNT dispersion literature. The present article seeks to elucidate and commend these concepts, identify the situations where this difference is most critical, note some scenarios where these concepts have been underutilized and posit experimental and computational characterization methods for quantifying the degree of nanodispersion. Particular attention is devoted to the controversial claims of complete nanodispersion and how such claims may be verified. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||