The Effect of Long Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes On Morphology in Solution-Cast Blends

A new class of commercial multi-walled carbon nanotubes with aspect ratio of ~500 has recently been introduced commercially. These tubes are 5 microns long, which is significantly larger than the dispersed phase in certain polymer blends.  We have shown via microscopy that when these tubes are introduced into the blend where the thermodynamic phase is the dispersed phase, the tubes clearly alter the blend morphology taking a blend which has a spherical dispersed phase and making the dispersed phase shape much more non-regular.  Typical commercial nanotubes with aspect ratio ~100 do not have this property.   Properties of the blend and some of the implications of these long nanotubes will be discussed.