Nanocomposites and nanomaterials

Influence of carbon nanotubes on properties of poly(3-methylthiophene) in their nanocomposites
Ogurtsov N.1, Mamykin A.2, Kukla O.2, Sydorov D.1, Oliynyk V.3, 
Zagorodnii V.3, Petrychuk M.3, Pud A.1
1 V.P. Kukhar Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Petrochemistry of NAS of Ukraine, 50 Kharkivske shose, Kyiv, 02160, Ukraine. 
E-mail: email.of. alexander.pud@gmail.com; pud@bpci.kiev.ua
2 V.E. Lashkaryov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, NAS of Ukraine, 45 Prospekt Nauky, Kyiv, 03028, Ukraine
3 Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Faculty of Radio Physics, Electronics and Computer Systems

New multifunctional hybrid nanocomposites of poly(3-methylthiophene) (P3MT-Cl) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) have been synthesized by the oxidative chemical polymerization approach. It was found that in case of P3MT-Cl content less than 30 wt. %, the nanocomposites had core-shell morphology with a thickness of a uniform surface layer from  1 nm to ~3 nm. Significant improvements were found in the properties of P3MT-Cl when it was synthesized in the presence of MWCNT. Specifically, synthesis of P3MT-Cl on the surface of MWCNT led to an increase in its molecular ordering due to probably the formation of π-π interaction between thienylene rings of P3MT and the surface of MWCNT. In particular, the nanocomposite containing 38 wt. % P3MT-Cl revealed a degree of crystallinity of 79.5%, which was 1.6 times higher than that of the pure polymer. The thermal stability of the P3MT-Cl phase in the nanocomposites was significantly different from that of the pure P3MT-Cl. In particular, the thermo-oxidative degradation of the former began 90 C higher than in the case of the latter. It was shown that as compared with the pure P3MT-Cl, the sensory responses of the nanocomposites to acetone and chloroform almost doubled. These nanocomposites were used to prepare ternary ones with a common matrix polymer, which were applied for a highly efficient electromagnetic interference shielding in a wide gigahertz frequency range.