Fabrication of super-macroporous nanocomposites by deposition of carbon nanotubes onto polymer cryogels

Electrically conducting super-macroporous carbon nanotube/polymer cryogel nanocomposites were fabricated by a novel approach based on deposition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) onto the inner surface of pre-formed cryogels assisted by cryogenic treatment. Stable aqueous dispersions of multi-walled and single-walled carbon nanotubes were firstly obtained by non-covalent modification of pristine nanotubes with either pyrene containing polydimethylacrylamide or poly(ethylene oxide)26-b-poly(propylene oxide)40-b-poly(ethylene oxide)26 copolymers and, then, exploited for the preparation of nanocomposites. The mechanical and electrical properties of nanocomposite materials were measured and compared to similar materials prepared by established method. The novel approach provided super-macroporous nanocomposites with high electrical conductivity (>10−2 S/m) at much lower nanotube content (0.12 wt.%).

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► We prepare different CNT/polymer cryogel nanocomposites by deposition of CNTs onto pre-formed polymer cryogels.
► We exploit the potential of cryogenic technique for synthesis of large number of macroporous matrices.
► The materials are very light and posses high electrical conductivity at a very low CNT content.