A facile method for grafting hyperbranched poly(thiol ether-ester) onto MWCNTs via thiol-yne click chemistry and their dispersion and oxidation responsive properties

A novel and facile approach was described to graft hyperbranched poly(thiol ether-ester) (HPTEE) onto the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) via thiol-yne click chemistry. The covalent grafting between HPTEE and MWCNTs was characterized through FT-IR, TGA, XPS and TEM techniques. Experimental results indicate that HPTEE chains were covalently grafted onto MWCNTs surface. The grafting content of HPTEE is about 22.9%, and the thickness of HPTEE grafted on MWCNTs is about 3-5 nm. The results of dispersibility test indicate that the dispersion stability of the MWCNTs-HPTEE in water was greatly improved as compared with the raw MWCNTs. Additionally, we demonstrate that the obtained MWCNTs-HPTEE were tested to be oxidation responsive because of the presence of oxidizable thioether groups in the grafting of hyperbranched polymers on the MWCNTs surface.

Automated summary

This study describes a novel and facile approach to graft hyperbranched poly(thiol ether-ester) onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using thiol-yne click chemistry. Through various techniques, the covalent grafting between the polymeric chains and the carbon nanotubes was confirmed. The grafting significantly improved the dispersion stability of the MWCNTs in water, and the resulting MWCNTs-HPTEE showed oxidation responsiveness due to the presence of oxidizable thioether groups.