Polymer-wrapped multiwalled carbon nanotubes synthesized via microwave-assisted in situ emulsion polymerization and their optical limiting properties

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/polystyrene (PS) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites were successfully prepared by in situ emulsion polymerization under microwave irradiation using potassium persulfate as initiator. Then the composites were treated with tetrahydrofuran (THF) to remove the free polymers. The resultant PS or PMMA-wrapped MWCNT samples, which were soluble in common organic solvents such as 1,2-dichlorobenzene, THF, chloroform and others, have been well-characterized by TEM, thermal gravimetric analyses, FT-IR, UV-vis and Raman spectra. The optical limiting properties of the polymer-wrapped MWCNT samples were investigated by open-aperture Z-scan method. All of the polymer modified MWCNT samples in chloroform showed much better optical limiting behavior than pristine MWCNT in chloroform. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.