Polystyrene-Based Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposite Thin Films:  Dynamics of Structural Instabilities

Abstract

Thin polystyrene (PS) liquid films supported by oxidized silicon (SiO x /Si) substrates may be unstable or metastable, depending on the film thickness, h. In the metastable thickness regime, holes nucleate throughout the surface of the films and subsequently grow under the action of capillary forces. Recent studies show that the hole growth rate in thin PS films is suppressed with the addition of small concentrations of C 60 fullerenes, due to pinning at the line of contact. We examined the hole growth dynamics in thin film polystyrenes with functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (PS-SWNT) supported by SiO x /Si substrates. The hole growth velocities in PS films containing 0.75 wt % functionalized single-walled nanotubes, V PS - SWNT, were appreciably slower than V PS, the hole-growth velocities of holes in polystyrene films of the same thickness. Moreover, V PS - SWNT and V PS decreased with decreasing film thickness, for h < 50 nm, with thickness dependencies which exceed theoretical predictions. In addition, V PS(h)/V PS - SWNT(h) increased with decreasing h, for h < 50 nm, and approached a constant value for larger h. We show that the suppression of the hole-growth rates in the PS−SWNT films are associated with larger viscosities of the PS−SWNT films and that the film thickness-dependent velocities are associated with film thickness-dependent viscosities.

Carbon nanotube induced polymer crystallization: The formation of nanohybrid shish–kebabs

“…Depending on the targeted properties, a variety of polymers have been explored to form nanocomposites with CNTs. These include amorphous polymers such as polystyrene [32][33][34], poly(methyl methacrylate) [35][36][37][38], rigid rod polymers such as poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) [39], crosslinkable polymers such as epoxy [40][41][42] and conducting polymers such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, etc. [43][44][45][46].…”

Enhancing the stability of polystyrene ultrathin films by using star-shape polymers as dewetting inhibitors

“…In recent years, many researchers have investigated the mechanism of this phenomenon and have discovered that other nanoparticles can also be used as dewetting inhibitors. [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] The suppression of thin film dewetting can also be achieved by reducing the mobility of polymeric chains. This technique is based on kinetic strategy.…”

Carbon nanotubes obtained along variations in chemical vapor deposition process for improvement in mechanical properties of an epoxy composite

“…The polymer matrix used for these materials has involved amorphous polymers (polystyrene, poly (methyl methacrylate)), rigid polymers (poly (pphenylene benzobisoxazole)), crosslinkable polymers (polyesters, epoxy) and conductive polymers (polyaniline, polypyrrole) [18,19]. In addition, PCNT composites formed by using semicrystalline polymer matrix have been analyzed recently [20,21], finding a high potential on mechanical properties and excellent electrical and thermal conductivities, being considered as potential applications for industrial applications [22].…”