Revista de Ingeniería

revinge | eISSN 2011-0049 | ISSN 0121-4993

Synthesis of a Poly (Methyl Methacrylate)-Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composite

No. 29 (2009-05-01)
  • Yuly Méndez
    Ingeniero químico, Grupo de Nuevos Materiales: Fullerenos y Nanotubos de Carbono. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia. yulypaolam@googlemail.com
  • Camilo Zúñiga
    Ingeniero químico. Grupo de Nuevos Materiales: Fullerenos y Nanotubos de Carbono. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Estudiante de Maestría en Alta Especialización en Plásticos y Cauchos, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) y Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo. Madrid, España. czuniga@uamerica.edu.co
  • Fernando Gómez-Baquero
    M.Sc. en Nanoscale Engineering. Grupo de Nuevos Materiales: Fullerenos y Nanotubos de Carbono. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Asistente de investigación de postgrado, Estudiante doctoral, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, University at Albany SUNY. Albany, NY, USA. FGomezBaquero@uamail.albany.edu
  • Álvaro Duarte Ruiz
    Ph.D. Profesor Asociado, Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Grupo de Nuevos Materiales: Fullerenos y Nanotubos de Carbono. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogotá D.C., Colombia. aduarter@unal.edu.co
https://doi.org/10.16924/revinge.29.5

Abstract

The purpose of the current work was the lab-scale synthesis and thermal characterization of a Poly(methyl methacrylate)-Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube (PMMAMWNTs) composite. The PMMA-MWNTs composite was produced by mass in-situ polymerization, using Benzoyl Peroxide (BPO) as initiator. As a previous step to the polymerization, a BPO-MWNTs reaction was performed to trigger the formation of free radicals in the surface of the MWNTs. The MWNT concentration in the composite was varied to produce samples of 0%, 0.1% and 0.5% w/w of MWNTs in PMMA. The produced composites show an adequate dispersion and different thermal properties than the PMMA blank, suggesting a property transfer from the nanoparticles. The proposed production method is simple, of relatively low cost and easily applicable in a variety of industrial applications.

Keywords: Bulk polymerization, carbon nanotubes, nanocomposites, Poly(methyl methacrylate)