Metallized nanotube polymer composites via supercritical fluid impregnation

Abstract

Although many metal decorated nanotubes and nanowires appear in the literature, well-dispersed metal decorated nanotube polymer composites have rarely been reported because of the excessive density mismatch between the decorated nanotubes and polymer matrix. Here, we report a novel method to prepare well-dispersed, highly functional, metallized nanotube polymer composites (MNPCs) that possess remarkably improved electrical conductivity and mechanical toughness. The MNPCs are prepared by supercritical fluid impregnation of an organometal compound into a premade well-dispersed single wall carbon nanotube-polymer composite film. The infused precursor preferentially migrates towards the nanotubes to undergo spontaneous reduction and form nanometer-scale metal particles leading to an increase in the conductivity of the MNPC films. The environmentally friendly supercritical fluid impregnation process significantly improved the toughness of the composite films, regardless of the presence of metal. Additional functionality can be imparted into the resulting MNPC by infusing other precursors such as magnetic and catalytic metal compounds.

Synthesis of Metal Nanostructures Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: A Green and Upscalable Process

“…Ag NPs with size as small as 2 nm can be prepared using SFRD. Apart from the common applications mentioned above, Ag NPs have been used as electrocatalysts, [121] for electromagnetic shielding, [120] as well as additives for lubricants. [80,125]…”

“…Metal NPs deposited on polyimide‐SWNT nanocomposite were tested for the application of lightweight electromagnetic shielding coating material for aircrafts. [ 120 ] The metallized nanotube polymer composites (MNPCs) possessed remarkably improved electrical conductivity and mechanical toughness thanks to the scCO 2 ‐assisted deposition. Preferential deposition of metal NPs was possible on the surface of SWNTs, even though, they were dispersed in the polimide matrix.…”

“…Preferential deposition of metal NPs was possible on the surface of SWNTs, even though, they were dispersed in the polimide matrix. [ 120 ]…”

“…[168,169] Supported or free NPs of these metals also can be synthesized using scCO 2 -assisted methods. [66,68,82,84,104,107,114,120,135,[170][171][172][173][174][175][176] Some examples of the preparation of these NPs using scCO 2 and their applications are briefly summarized in Table S5 (Supporting Information). Ru, Rh, Ir, and Ni are very valuable catalysts for various industrial reactions and were effectively prepared by SFRD method and were found to have improved catalytic activities than conventionally synthesized NPs.…”

Mechanical properties and thermostability of polyimide/mesoporous silica nanocomposite via effectively using the pores

“…Even at a very low amount of usage, these nanofillers can greatly improve the macroscopic properties of the polymers . Some typical inorganic nanofillers, including carbon materials (such as carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets) and metal oxides (such as silica, titanium dioxide, alumina), etc., efficiently improved the properties of PI. Among these inorganic materials, silica has received much more attention in recent years because of its high thermal stability and extremely low thermal expansion coefficient (5 × 10 −7 K −1 ).…”