Single-walled metal oxide and metal sulphide nanotubes/polymer composites

摘要

The present invention discloses a nanocomposite material having single-walled aluminosilicate nanotube in polymer, a membrane comprising such nanocomposite material, and the method of making the nanocomposite material, in which the composite material has high volume fraction of well-dispersed nanotubes. A gel-phased single-walled aluminosilicate nanotube is first prepared and then mixed with a polymer matrix to yield the composite material.

主权项

1. A method of making a well dispersed metal oxide or metal sulphide single-walled nanotube (SWNT)/polymer composite material, comprising:
a) preparing a gel-phase metal oxide or metal sulphide SWNT, comprising:
a-1) mixing a stoichiometric amount of a metal source, oxide source, and a silicon source;a-2) adding an aqueous acid to mixture of step a-1), followed by stirring;a-3) diluting mixture of step a-2) with deionized water by factor of 3.5 to 4 and stirring the diluted mixture at an elevated temperature;a-4) adding a base to cooled mixture until gelation of suspended nanotubes occurs; anda-5) isolating the gel and re-dispersing the suspended nanotubes by adding a small amount of concentrated acid to the gel; b) mixing the gel-phase metal oxide or metal sulphide SWNT with a polymer; and c) obtaining a SWNT/polymer composite with at least 30 vol % of the metal oxide or metal sulphide SWNT in the polymer composite material, wherein the SWNT exist as a single nanotube or a small bundle of about <3 to 4 nanotubes.