Elastic modulus of single‐walled carbon nanotube/poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites

Dynamic mechanical analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance, and thermogravimetric analysis experiments were performed on pure poly(methyl methacrylate) and on in situ polymerized single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)/PMMA nanocomposites. The addition of less than 0.1 wt % SWNT to PMMA led to an increase in the low‐temperature elastic modulus of approximately 10% beyond that of pure PMMA. The glass‐transition temperature and the elastic modulus at higher temperatures of the nanocomposites remained unchanged from those of pure PMMA. These changes were associated with excessive cohesive interactions between the large‐surface area nanotubes and PMMA and were not due to changes in the microstructural features of the polymer during synthesis.