As an analogous material to carbon nanotube (CNT), boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) has attracted a growing attention for a decade due to its superb physical properties such as excellent mechanical strength, toughness, high thermal conductivity, electrically insulating property, and biocompatibility. Moreover, extraordinary properties of BNNT over CNT such as high oxidation resistance (stable up to 900<sup>o</sup>C), high miscibility with some polymer matrices by ionic interaction, piezoelectricity, and high neutron absorptivity are drawing significant attention from the field of material science related to composite materials such as structural composites , nanoscale electrical devices, and aero-space materials for harsh environments. However, highly stable dispersion of BNNTs especially in volatile organic solvents, which should be achieved for fabrication of homogeneous composites, has still been remained unsolved. In this talk, we will introduce a non-covalent functionalization approach in order to efficiently debundle and achieve a good dispersion and high concentration of BNNT in various solvents without any damages on intrinsic properties of BNNTs. The debundling efficiency of the dispersing agents as well as the stability of BNNT dispersion are systematically investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Turbiscan analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In order to emphasize the high thermal resistance and mechanical strength of BNNTs, the highly debundled BNNT dispersion is applied in fabrication of thermally regenerable ultrafiltration membranes which can exclude higher than 99.9% of PS latex with about 25 nm in diameter using very small amount of BNNT. Furthermore, high concentration BNNT pastes showing shear-thinning property, which is essential for coating, were prepared with combinations of various solvents and dispersing agents and applied to fabricate BNNT/polymer composite thin films and fibers.

Highly stable boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) dispersions and pastes for thin film coatings and fibers

2019 Spring National Meeting

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