Investigation of thermal properties of Polyvinylbutyral/functionalized carbon nanotubes Nanocomposites

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have a van der Waals attraction of 0.5 eV per nanometer of tube-tube contact [1]. This causes them to exist as ropes or bundles in their nativestate. To generate individual SWNTs, the thermodynamic drive toward bundling must be overcome. Some strategiesemployed thus far are polymer wrapping and coating of nanotubes with surfactants. Another impediment to materials applications is the poor compatibility between pristine carbon nanotubes and polymer matrices. Functionalization of SWNTs can serve to not only improve their solubility and, therefore, dispersion, but also to create attractive van der Waals interactions between the polymer and nanotube addend [2].