Design and synthesis of aniline-appended P3HT for single step covalent functionalisation of carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The synthesis of a copolymer derived from poly(3-hexylthiophene), one of the monomers bearing an aniline group, is described. Like the homopolymer, this copolymer is able to functionalize carbon nanotubes by π-stacking of the thiophene units onto the hexagonal network of the nanotubes. It can as well be covalently attached onto carbon nanotube walls without the need for an intermediate chemical step. While the dispersion of non-covalent nanohybrids in THF is stable for only a few hours, one of the covalent nanohybrids is stable for weeks, showing the efficiency of the functionalization. The comparison between the spectroscopic characterization of both covalent and non-covalent systems shows that the copolymer organizes differently at the interface with the nanotubes in each case, in agreement with the effectiveness of the addition reaction.