A NEW APPROACH TO THE SYNTHESIS OF CARBON NANOTUBE-POLYHEDRAL OLIGOMERIC SILSESQUIOXANE (POSS) NANOHYBRIDS

摘要

To date, the functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS) has become one of the most intensively explored methods to produce CNT-based nanostructure composite materials. In this study, a simple and effective synthesizing method has been reported to prepare a nanohybrid material consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and aminopropylisobutyl-POSS. The approach is based on covalent bonding between CNTs and POSS molecules. Characterization of the as-received materials as well as the POSS-treated CNTs has been performed. Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses verify the covalent grafting of POSS onto CNT walls through the formation of amide bonds. TEM studies reveal the attachment of relatively high amount of POSS to the CNT walls in POSS-treated product. TGA observations suggest that the presence of relatively high amount of POSS in MWCNT-POSS product is responsible for the thermal stability of CNTs at temperature range of RT-200 °C. The resulting nanohybrids with improved functionality and thermal stability would be good candidates as reinforcing materials for compatible polymer matrices.