Synthesis of Highly Stretchable and Electrically ConductiveMultiwalled Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Nanocomposite Films br

Emulsion-based methods offer a range of advan-tages for fabrication of polymer nanocomposite materials. Herein,we have explored the use of in situ miniemulsion polymerization aswell as a variety of physical mixing methods for preparation ofnanocompositefilms comprising multiwalled carbon nanotubes(MWNTs) and statistical copolymers based on styrene andn-butylacrylate. Nanocompositefilms were prepared at room temperaturevia simple drop casting of the obtained nanocomposite latex. It isdemonstrated that both the fabrication method and compositionaldetails such as the nature of the surfactant greatly influence thelatex stability and the physical properties of the resultingnanocompositefilms. Films prepared via miniemulsion polymer-ization exhibited high stretchability, whereasfilms produced byphysical mixing showed electrical conductivities of approximately 102Sm-1, which lies in the highest range reported to date for suchmaterials via any preparation technique and is the highest ever for emulsion-based techniques within this concentration range ofcarbon nanotubes. The high electrical conductivity with tuneable mechanical properties shown in this study is envisaged to boostinterest in polymer/CNT nanocomposites for different applications.