Functionalization of Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Electrografting of Polyacrylonitrile

Summary: Multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been successfully modified with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by a cathodic electrochemical process. The surface‐modified MWNTs afforded are then dispersible in good solvents for PAN, such as N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF). Collected from a dilute dispersion, these MWNTs are essentially disentangled, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. From the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) traces for polyacrylonitrile and polyacrylonitrile‐grafted MWNTs, the maximum grafting ratio is estimated at 0.28. Electrochemical grafting of polyacrylonitriles onto the surface of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes. magnified image Electrochemical grafting of polyacrylonitriles onto the surface of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes.