Facile tuning of a polymeric dispersant for single-walled carbon nanotube dispersion

Abstract

We designed and synthesized a polymeric dispersant for use with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Poly((furfuryl methacrylate)-co-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)) (p(FMA-co-DMAEMA)) was synthesized, and its solubility was tuned by the quaternization of a tertiary amine. Quaternized p(FMA-co-DMAEMA) (p(FMA-co-QDMAEMA)) changed the dispersibility of SWCNTs in various polar solvents, such as ethylene glycol (EG), methanol (MeOH), water and dimethylformamide (DMF). The chemical structures of the synthesized and modified polymeric dispersants were confirmed using ¹H NMR. The dispersion quality of SWCNTs by p(FMA-co-QDMAEMA) was estimated using a particle stability analyzer, zeta-potential, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The diameters and degree of defects of the dispersed SWCNTs were estimated using Raman spectroscopy. The dispersed SWCNTs in EG and MeOH display heights between 1.45 and 1.78 nm and a diameter of 1.17 nm, which corresponds to 1 or 2 bundled SWCNTs.