Nanocomposites of triazole functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube with chemically grafted polyimide: preparation,characterization, and properties

In order to improve the dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in polyimide (PI) matrix and the interfacial interaction between MWCNTs and PI, 3,5-diamino-N-(1H-[1,2,4]triazol-3-yl)-benzamide (DTB)-functionalized MWCNTs (DTB-MWCNTs) were synthesized by amidation reaction. The DTB-MWCNTs were analyzed by several techniques. DTB-MWCNTs were used as a platform for the grafting of a DTB-based PI in N,N′-dimethylformamide solution with different loadings of DTB-MWCNTs to produce PI-grafted MWCNT (PI-g-MWCNT) composites. The thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties of the PI-g-MWCNT composites were improved compared with PI due to the homogeneous dispersion of DTB-MWCNTs and strong interfacial covalent bonds between DTB-MWCNTs and the PI chain.