Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube‐Reinforced Poly(vinyl chloride)

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)‐reinforced poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was prepared via a simple adsorption method in an aqueous system. MWCNTs possessing negatively charged carboxyl groups at their tips and sidewalls introduced during the purification process were dispersed in water with the cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, using ultra‐sonication. Then, PVC microspheres, which have a negative charge in water at pH 7.0, were added to the aqueous MWCNTs dispersion. As a result, the MWCNTs were stably and strongly adsorbed on the surface of the PVC microspheres by electrostatic interaction. Furthermore, the dispersivity of the MWCNTs in the PVC remained high, even when we manufactured the MWCNT‐adsorbed PVC microspheres in the form of solution cast films. The PVC/MWCNTs nanocomposite exhibited a marked increase in its electrical conductivity, in spite of the relatively low MWCNT content (2.9 wt%). The composite films also showed an improvement in their mechanical properties, such as their tensile strength and Young's modulus.