Raman and mechanical properties measurements of single walled carbon nanotube composites of polyisobutylene

Abstract

Significant shifts of the frequency of the Raman spectra of the tangential mode of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and fluorinated tubes (FSWNTs) in composites of polyisobutylene and SWNTs were observed relative to the pristine SWNTs indicative of interaction between polymer and the SWNTs . Hardness measurements as a function of weight percent SWNTs and FSWNTs in the polymer showed larger enhancements of hardness in the composite with the fluorinated tubes. An enhancement of hardness of 847% was measured in a polymer having 10% by weight SWNTs and stretched to produce partial alignment of the SWNTs as determined by polarization studies of the Raman lines. This is the largest increase in strength observed in any polymer SWNT composite to date.