Water-dispersible carbon nanotube prepared by non-destructive functionalization technique of admicellar polymerization

• The modified CNT by admicellar polymerization with polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) coating showed well dispersion in water.
• The structure of the modified CNT was non-destructive.

Water-dispersible carbon nanotube (CNT) was prepared by admicellar polymerization — a non-destructive functionalization technique. Polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) were synthesized on the CNT surface for improving water dispersion. The optimum amount of monomer for polymer film formation was investigated by the colloidal stability in water testing, turbidity measurement and laser particle size analysis. Percentage of polymer film formation was also analyzed by thermal degradation. FT-IR and TGA were used to characterize the polymer film on the CNT surface. SEM and TEM were used to observe its morphology. The structure damage after modification was analyzed by FT-Raman. It was found that CNT modified by a coating with PAA and PVAc via admicellar polymerization was highly dispersed in water. The optimum surfactant:monomer ratio for preparation of water-dispersible CNT was 1:10 for both polymers. Percent film coated on CNT was 10 wt.% and 12 wt.% for PAA and PVAc, respectively. The results from FTIR, TGA, SEM and TEM confirmed that CNT was successfully coated by PAA and PVAc. Lastly, FT-Raman was used to prove that admicellar polymerization is a method of non-destructive functionalization.

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