Direct grafting of carbon nanotubes with ethylenediamine

Abstract

Singlewall and multiwall carbon nanotubes were covalently functionalised with ethylenediamine (EDA) in a simple one-pot process providing a good surface coverage. The successful grafting of EDA on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared and Raman spectroscopies and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). These functionalised CNTs with terminal amino groups were shown to form composite polyamide materials with uniform CNT distribution in the polymer matrix.