Nanocarbon structures such as graphene or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unique properties such as electrical, thermal, electrothermal, mechanical and chemical. Unfortunately, macroscopic objects from these nanostructures do not perform equally well because the individual nanotubes do not transfer electrical charge, phonons or stress between them sufficiently well. One possible solution to improve the properties of macroscopic ensembles from nanocarbon is to manufacture the composites with other materials like polymers, ceramics, or metals. This connection is usually beneficial. However, the properties depend strongly on the integration degree of the two compounds. For example, nanocomposites with polymers have improved mechanical (Poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA) or electrical (in the cause of conductive polymers) properties. Many ways lead to PMMA-CNTs, but the most popular are coating (dip-coating, spin-coating, spray coating) and dispersion methods. Concomitantly, oxidization of CNTs is often used to improve integration between nanotubes and polymers. One of the potential applications of these composites is as a membrane for the purification of wastewater from organic residues. Unfortunately, industrial growth in the last century has caused the reduction of the available pure water. Finding a new effective method of removing impurities is becoming one of the most critical challenges in the world, and these nanocomposites could help create such technology. The commercial single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) TuballTM and in-house made multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were used to create nanocomposites with PMMA. Moreover, SWCNTs and MWCNTs have been oxidized to research the impact of the present oxygen group on the morphology of said nanocomposites. Scanning Electron Microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and mechanical testing were used to analyze composites. The nanocomposites were used to remove chosen organic compounds dissolved in water. UV-VIS spectroscopy was used to gauge the concentration of organic compounds before /after the filtration of aqueous solution dissolved therein. The best results were for SWCNTs and PMMA-SWCNTs membrane as they removed more than 99% of chosen water impurities.

Pmma-Cnt composites – synthesis, properties, and potential applications

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