Nanocomposites: issues at the interface

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), whether single-or multiwalled (SWNT or MWNT, respectively), have, in an unparalleled fashion, grabbed the attention of both researchers and business leaders within the polymer community. The vast potential afforded by the unprecedented combination of mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties within one nanoscale additive opens new vistas for commodity plastics, elastomers, adhesives, and coatings, as well as new specialty systems with never-before-realized combinations of material properties within a processible plastic or fiber(1-3).