An efficient route to carbon nanotube/polymer gels with controlled porosity
발표자
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초록
내용
We present an efficient route to carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer gels using the microphase separation behavior of two polymers, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). The two polymers exhibit different phase behaviors in a binary-solvent consisting of water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). CNTs were integrated into the binary-polymer/binary-solvent system, offering a unique opportunity to control the physical gelation behavior and furthermore to achieve desirable physicochemical characteristics of the resulting gels. The CNTs were individually wrapped with PVA chains, which extended the binary polymer system to a ternary polymer system consisting of PVA bound to SWNTs, free PVA, and PAN. The amount of the CNTs and water-to-DMSO volume ratio were considered as key variables to control the porosity of the gel. It is also important to note that the CNT/polymer gels showed strong potential as precursors for producing functional carbon electrode materials.