1. School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 2C6, Canada;2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Abstract:
A hyperbranched polyethylene (HBPE) is employed herein for noncovalent nonspecific functionalization and solubilization of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in organic solvents. Though constructed solely from ethylene without any specific functionality, this unique hyperbranched polymer has been found to effectively solubilize MWCNTs at surprisingly high concentrations (up to 1 235 mg · L?1) in organic solvents such as chloroform and THF. These solubilities are comparable to and even better than the reported best values obtained through noncovalent specific functionalization with conjugated polymers capable of forming specific π‐π interaction with nanotubes in organic solvents. TEM and XRD results confirm that the nanotubes are completely exfoliated and debundled/de‐entangled upon functionalization with HBPE.
