Carbon nanotube–poly(methyl methacrylate) hybrid films: Preparation using diazonium salt chemistry and mechanical properties

Hypothesis The poor miscibility of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in common organic solvents and organic monomers requires their modification by suitable functional (reactive or not) groups prior to their incorporation in thermoplastic polymers. Experiments Dispersion behavior of carbon nanotubes and mechanical properties of various CNT–poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposites were investigated. We studied the influence of the surface chemistry through the use of diazonium salts as an elegant and environmentally friendly platform to provide a suitable sidewall functionalization by methyl methacrylate functions. We used either a molecular size functional group through the grafting of methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane or a macromolecular size one, consisting in PMMA brushes grown by SI-ATRP in order to study the influence of the length of methacrylate function on the dispersion of CNT in PMMA. Findings The hardness and the elastic indentation modulus of all hybrid films were obtained through nanoindentation measurements and found to increase, using ATRP-modified CNTs, suggesting a better dispersion of CNTs in PMMA due to optimal inorganic–organic interactions promoted by the short chains of PMMA.