Preparation of encapsulated multiwall carbon nanotube via Ultrasonically assisted emulsion polymerization

At the present study, insitu emulsion polymerization and ultrasonic irradiation were applied to prepare stableacrylic copolymers/carbon nanotubes nanocomposite emulsions. Three stage were adopted, in stage 1,Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) modified via feridel-craft acylation reaction and polymerizablefunctional groups attached to their surfaces. In stage 2, ultrasonic assisted emulsion polymerization wasapplied on modified MWNTs and finally in stage 3, conventional emulsion polymerization conducted tofurther enhance monomer conversion and solid content. Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was applied toinvestigation of MWNTs modification, Transmittance electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed preparation ofacrylic coated MWNTs via in situ polymerization. thermal and mechanical properties of final composite wereinvestigated. These results indicated that MWNTs are individually dispersed in polymer matrices andpolymerization morphology as well thermo-mechanical properties affected significantly.