Characteristics of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube / Poly(methyl methacrylate) Composites Prepared by In-situ Bulk Polymerization

초록

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) purified by acidic solution were processed with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) via an in-situ polymerization. Spectroscopic and morphological investigation of the resultant nanocomposites (MWNT-PMMA) indicated a role for the radical initiator (2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile, AIBN) during the preparation of the composite. With the addition of MWNT, increases in both the polymerization rate and MWNT diameter were observed providing an indirect evidence for the participation of MWNT in the polymerization reaction of PMMA. We predict that the induced radicals on the MWNT surface by AIBN trigger the grafting of PMMA chains onto MWNT