An easy method for the production of functional polypyrrole/MWCNT and polycarbazole/MWCNT composites using nucleophilic multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Oxidized polycarboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (COOH-MWCNTs) may be readily decorated by covalently attached pyrrolyl (Pyr) and carbazolyl (Cbz)-containing ligands. Resulting chemically modified MWCNTs behave as a novel nucleophilic nanosized phase. It covalently trapped positively charged polyPyr- and polyCbz-chains grown oxidatively in bulk media of liquid phase polymerizations (LPPs). This two-step sequence for the controlled fabrication of functional (polyCOOH) dual phase polyPyr/MWCNT and polyCbz/MWCNT composites provided a general solution to the observed detrimental issues of phase compatibility during component assembly. In one specific case, this multi-parameter oxidative liquid phase polymerization process has been also investigated using a statistically relevant design of experiments in order to evaluate influential LPP parameters for process optimization. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.