Absorption behavior of poly(methyl methacrylate)-multiwalled carbon nanotube composites: effects of UV irradiation

Versatile Multi-Functional Block Copolymers Made by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization and Post-Synthetic Modification: Switching from Volatile Organic Compound Sensors to Polymeric Surfactants for Water Rheology Control via Hydrolysis

Novel, multipurpose terpolymers based on styrene (PS), tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), have been synthesized via Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP). Post-synthetic modification with 1-pyrenemethylamine (AMP) allows non-covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes, eventually yielding a conductive nanocomposite materials capable of interacting with different Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) by electrical resistance variation upon exposure. Moreover, facile hydrolysis of the tBMA group yields polyelectrolytic macrosurfactants with remarkable thickening properties for promising applications in water solution, such as Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).

Effect of graphene on the absorption of methanol and crack healing in poly(methyl methacrylate)-based composites

This work is focused on the mass transport of methanol and the methanol-assisted crack healing in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-graphene composites at different temperatures. The effect of the fraction of graphene on the mass transport of methanol and the methanol-assisted crack healing is also studied. The experimental results reveal that adding graphene to the PMMA matrix increases the resistance to the migration/diffusion of methanol and polymer chains in the PMMA matrix, and the absorption of methanol follows anomalous diffusion. The activation energies for the case I transport and case II transport in the PMMA-graphene composites are relatively independent of the fraction of graphene, and are larger than the corresponding ones in pure PMMA. Increasing the healing time and healing temperature allows for more polymer chains to migrate/diffuse across fractured surfaces, leading to the increase in the fracture strength of the crack-healed PMMA-graphene composites.