Preparation of highly stable and well separated of carbon nanotubes in an aqueous modified polyacrylonitrile solution

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersion in liquids is a fundamental subject for basic research and for practical applications. CNTs due to their nonreactive surface can not effectively disperse in polymeric matrix. Efficient exploitation of CNTs properties to improve material performance is generally related to the degree of dispersion, saturation by the matrix and interfacial adhesion. In this work, an easy procedure for preparation a stable dispersion of well separated and individual CNTs in an aqueous polymeric solution by using of Gum Arabic (GA) and modified polymer has been described. The applied polymer was a modified water soluble acrylonitrile polymer. The modification was carried out through functionalizing polyacrylonitrile by 2-aminoethanol. Individual dispersion of the CNTs in the aqueous GA solution after two month can be observed. By incorporating the modified polyacrylonitrile to the solution, the stability of the individual CNTs dispersion several times was increased in such a way that after six month, the CNTs were still kept at their individual positions.

Keywords:

“Gum Arabic (GA)” , “carbon nanotubes (CNTs)” , “polyacrylonitrile (PAN)” , “modification” , “dispersion”