Nanomaterials 2012, 2(4), 329-347; doi:10.3390/nano2040329
Article

Improved Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Polymers at High Concentrations

Chao-Xuan Liu 1 email and Jin-Woo Choi 1,2,* email
1 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA 2 Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 3 September 2012; in revised form: 24 September 2012 / Accepted: 6 October 2012 / Published: 26 October 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composite Nanomaterials)
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Abstract: The polymer nanocomposite used in this work comprises elastomer poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as a polymer matrix and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a conductive nanofiller. To achieve uniform distribution of carbon nanotubes within the polymer, an optimized dispersion process was developed, featuring a strong organic solvent—chloroform, which dissolved PDMS base polymer easily and allowed high quality dispersion of MWCNTs. At concentrations as high as 9 wt.%, MWCNTs were dispersed uniformly through the polymer matrix, which presented a major improvement over prior techniques. The dispersion procedure was optimized via extended experimentation, which is discussed in detail.
Keywords: polymer; carbon nanotubes; nanocomposite; high concentration; dispersion

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, C.-X.; Choi, J.-W. Improved Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Polymers at High Concentrations. Nanomaterials 2012, 2, 329-347.

AMA Style

Liu C-X, Choi J-W. Improved Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Polymers at High Concentrations. Nanomaterials. 2012; 2(4):329-347.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Chao-Xuan; Choi, Jin-Woo. 2012. "Improved Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Polymers at High Concentrations." Nanomaterials 2, no. 4: 329-347.

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