TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of steric interactions in dispersion of carbon nanotubes by poly(3-alkyl thiophenes) in organic solvents
AU - Bar-Hen, Avraham
AU - Bounioux, Céline
AU - Yerushalmi-Rozen, Rachel
AU - Gonzalez Solveyra, Estefania
AU - Szleifer, Igal
N1 - Funding Information:
I.S. acknowledges support from National Science Foundation grant No. CBET-1403058 . R.Y.-R. acknowledges support from the Israel Science Foundation 72/14.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2015/8/5
Y1 - 2015/8/5
N2 - The dispersion mechanism of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in organic solutions of poly(3-alkyl thiophenes, P3ATs) was examined in a study that combines experimental investigation of the dispersion mechanism and molecular theory calculations of the effective intertube potential for polymer wrapped CNTs. The minimal polymer concentration required for dispersion of CNT served as a comparative measure of the efficiency of P3AT derivatives that differ in the length of the alkyl side chains or the regiochemistry of the monomers in three solvents: 1,2 and 1,3 dichlorobenzene and chloroform. While previous studies focused on the adsorption mechanism of P3ATs onto SWNT, we find that the dispersing efficiency depends not only on the stacking of the polymer backbone onto the CNT ("wrapping"), but also on the steric repulsion among the side chains of adsorbed P3ATs. In accordance with the experiments, our calculations indicate that high surface density of polymers with longer side chains and large tube diameter promote the formation of stable dispersions of relatively high loadings of CNTs, at low polymer:CNT ratios.
AB - The dispersion mechanism of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in organic solutions of poly(3-alkyl thiophenes, P3ATs) was examined in a study that combines experimental investigation of the dispersion mechanism and molecular theory calculations of the effective intertube potential for polymer wrapped CNTs. The minimal polymer concentration required for dispersion of CNT served as a comparative measure of the efficiency of P3AT derivatives that differ in the length of the alkyl side chains or the regiochemistry of the monomers in three solvents: 1,2 and 1,3 dichlorobenzene and chloroform. While previous studies focused on the adsorption mechanism of P3ATs onto SWNT, we find that the dispersing efficiency depends not only on the stacking of the polymer backbone onto the CNT ("wrapping"), but also on the steric repulsion among the side chains of adsorbed P3ATs. In accordance with the experiments, our calculations indicate that high surface density of polymers with longer side chains and large tube diameter promote the formation of stable dispersions of relatively high loadings of CNTs, at low polymer:CNT ratios.
KW - Carbon nanotubes
KW - Conjugated polymers
KW - Dispersions
KW - Pi-pi conjugation
KW - Polythiophenes
KW - Steric stabilization
KW - Wrapping
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84928309931&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jcis.2015.04.038
DO - 10.1016/j.jcis.2015.04.038
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84928309931
SN - 0021-9797
VL - 452
SP - 62
EP - 68
JO - Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
JF - Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
ER -