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. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.