Preparation and characterization of conductor–insulator–semiconductor sandwich-structured MWCNT/double-layer polymer hybrid nanocomposites

Abstract

The conductor–insulator–semiconductor sandwich-structured MWCNT/double-layer polymer hybrid nanocomposites (MWCNT-PS-PAA/PAn), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) encapsulated with polystyrene (PS) inner layer and polyacrylic acid (PAA) doped polyaniline (PAn) outer layer via covalently linking, were fabricated through combining the successive surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and in situ chemical oxidative polymerization techniques. The sandwiched structure was confirmed by the XPS and TEM analysis. Due to their conductor–insulator–semiconductor sandwich structure, the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites obtained was far less than the similar small acids doped PAn/carbon nanotubes composites. Furthermore, the dispersibility of the sandwiched hybrid nanocomposites in organic solvent obviously improved compared with the pristine carbon nanotubes.