Improvement of tensile properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) by dispersing multi-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with poly(3-hexylthiophene)-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate)

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites are prepared using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-graft-PMMA as a compatibilizer. Fluorescence emission and Raman spectra indicate that the P3HT part of the compatibilizer strongly interacts with the surface of MWCNT. Addition of the compatibilizer results in well-dispersed PMMA/MWCNT composite with enhanced mechanical properties, whereas PMMA/MWCNT composite prepared without addition of the compatibilizer shows an aggregation of MWCNT in PMMA matrix. Particularly, PMMA/MWCNT composites prepared in the presence of the compatibilizer do not exhibit the trade-off of mechanical properties, whereas PMMA/MWCNT composites without the compatibilizer exhibit the trade-off behavior.