Ultrasound-induced Functionalization and Solubilization of Carbon Nanotubes for Potential Nanotextiles Applications

摘要

A simple sonochemical method has been employed for the surface functionalization of carbon nanotubes. Pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were irradiated by ultrasound in methyl methacrylate monomer. Polymer grafted carbon nanotubes were easily prepared by in situ sonochemically initiated radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate. FT-IR, TGA, SEM and TEM were used to characterize the polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) grafted SWNTs. The surface-modified SWNTs afforded are then dispersible in good solvents for PMMA, such as dichloromethane and chloroform. The 'green' value involved in this simplifying processing contains low hazard, clean operation, reduced chemical consumption and short time, which undoubtedly generate profound impact on the development of carbon nanotube based nanochemistry and large scale nanotextiles application.