Influence of acid treatment on dispersion of carbon nanotubes in PBO matrix

Dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polymeric matrix has been a key factor on forming CNTs/polymer composites. In this paper, the O-MWNTs were first derived from raw multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) which were purified with a mixed solution of concentrated H₂SO₄ and concentrated HNO₃, then the O-MWNTs were dispersed with sonication in H₃PO₄ and the resultants were denoted as U-MWNTs. After processed with poly (p-phenylene-2,6-benzoxazole)(PBO) by in-situ polymerisation successfully, the O-MWNTs and the UMWNTs were finally formed into O-MWNTs/PBO composites and U-MWNTs/PBO composites, respectively. The SEM and AFM morphological analysis showed that a perfect dispersion of U-MWNTs in U-MWNTs/ PBO composites was obtained. These composites can be widely used in photoelectric devices and engineering applications, etc.