Preparation and characterisation of multiwalled carbonnanotube (MWCNT)/polymer nanostructured materials

摘要

Here, we report on a novel method of incorporating carbon nanotubes into a polymer matrix by usingcarbon nanotubes as a chain transfer agent (CTA) in Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer(RAFT) polymerisations. The dithioester RAFT agents were covalently linked to multi-walled carbonnanotubes (MWCNTs) via a method, which involved the reaction of acyl halide MWCNTs with amagnesium chloride dithiopropanoate salt. Polystyrene (PSt) was subsequently grafted from theMWCNT surface via the core-first technique, which implies an outward growth of polymer chainsfrom the core, using the R-group approach. The structure and morphology of the hybrid nanomaterialswere investigated using FTIR, NMR, thrmogravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscopy(AFM) techniques. The results showed that the MWCNT chain transfer agent could be successfullyused to mediate the growth of polystyrene polymer from the MWCNT surface via the living radicalpolymerisation approach.