Dispersion and Alignment of Carbon Nanotubes in Liquid Crystalline Polymers and Elastomers

A new main‐chain liquid crystalline polymer with pyrene end‐caps is developed to greatly facilitate dispersion of carbon nanotubes in organic solvents. It also helps stabilize nanotubes in the bulk of a liquid crystalline elastomer matrix, where the tubes are aligned along the director axis. We use...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2010-08, Vol.22 (31), p.3436-3440
Main Authors: Ji, Yan, Huang, Yan Y., Rungsawang, Rakchanok, Terentjev, Eugene M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon nanotube composites
Elasticity
Elastomers
Liquid crystals
Liquid Crystals - chemistry
Nanotubes, Carbon - chemistry
Polymers - chemistry
Shape-memory materials
Spectrometry, Fluorescence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A new main‐chain liquid crystalline polymer with pyrene end‐caps is developed to greatly facilitate dispersion of carbon nanotubes in organic solvents. It also helps stabilize nanotubes in the bulk of a liquid crystalline elastomer matrix, where the tubes are aligned along the director axis. We use THz spectroscopy to characterize nanotube alignment and demonstrate the photo‐actuation response of the composite.
ISSN:0935-9648
1521-4095
DOI:10.1002/adma.200904103