Preparation, Alignment, and Optical Properties of Soluble Poly(phenylacetylene)-Wrapped Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon nanotube-containing poly(phenylacetylenes) (NT/PPAs) are prepared by in situ polymerizations of phenylacetylene catalyzed by WCl₆e-PK₄Sn and [Rh(nbd)Cl]₂ (nbd = 2,5-norbornadiene) in the presence of the nanotubes. The NT/PPAs are characterized by GPC, NMR, UV, FL, TGA, SEM, TEM, and XRD, and it is found that the nanotubes in the NT/PPAs are helically wrapped by the PPA chains. The short nanotubes thickly wrapped in the PPA chains are soluble in common organic solvents including tetrahydrofuran, toluene, chloroform, and 1,4-dioxane. The NT/PPAs are macroscopically processible, and shearing of the NT/PPA solutions readily aligns the nanotubes along the direction of the applied mechanical force. The nanotubes exhibit a strong photostabilization effect, protecting the PPA chains from photodegradation under harsh laser irradiation with incident fluence as high as 10 J/cm₂. The NT/PPA solutions effectively limit intense optical pulses, with the saturation fluence tunable by varying the nanotube contents.