Enhancing Dispersion and Properties of SWNT-polymer Nanocomposites by Controlled Non-covalent Interactions

The enhancement of the dispersion and properties of singlewalled carbon nanotubes in a polymer nanocomposite via non-covalent interaction is studied. 1{\%} w/w SWNT are dispersed in random copolymers of methyl methacrylate and 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), where the composition of the copolymer varies from 0{\%} to 50{\%} DMAEMA. The resulting nanocomposites indicate the existence of interactions between the carbon nanotube and polymer matrix by a shift of the D* peak position ($\sim $2600-2700 cm$^{-1})$ of the polymer nanocomposite. The copolymer with 30{\%} DMAEMA shows the smallest shift, suggesting that the nanotubes are debundled, where it is expected that this non-covalent interaction originate from the tertiary amino group in DMAEMA by formation of an electron-donor interaction with the SWNT.