Junction-Controlled Elasticity of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Dispersions in Acrylic Copolymer Gels and Solutions

Abstract

Oscillatory shear rheometry is used to study the mechanical response of single-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in solutions of acrylic diblock or triblock copolymers in 2-ethyl-1-hexanol. Thermal transitions in the copolymer solutions provide a route for the easy processing of these composite materials, with excellent dispersion of the nanotubes as verified by near-infrared photoluminescence spectroscopy. The nanotube dispersions form elastic networks with properties that are controlled by the junction points between nanotubes, featuring a temperature-dependent elastic response that is controlled by the dynamic properties of the matrix copolymer solution. The data are consistent with the formation of micelle-like aggregates around the nanotubes. At low temperatures the core-forming poly(methyl methacrylate) blocks are glassy, and the overall mechanical response of the composite does not evolve with time. At higher temperatures the enhanced mobility of the core-forming blocks enables the junctions to ach...