Methods for block functionalization of carbon nanotubes and applications

Barrett, Lawrence

Methods for block functionalization of carbon nanotubes and applications

dc.contributor.advisor	Crossley, Steven
dc.contributor.author	Barrett, Lawrence
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Resasco, Daniel
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Brian, Grady
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Harwell, Jeffrey
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Glatzhofer, Daniel
dc.date.accessioned	2019-03-15T22:09:51Z
dc.date.available	2019-03-15T22:09:51Z
dc.date.issued	2019-05-10
dc.date.manuscript	2019-01-16
dc.description.abstract	This work has shown a method to produce block functionalized carbon nanotubes, BF-CNTs, with polymer covalently grafted to the sidewall with a selectivity along the length of the nanotube. This selectivity is reversible meaning either half can be polymerized. This was accomplished by doping the nanotube with nitrogen during growth. The nitrogen forms pyridine groups which then act as P-type dopants on the outer wall, weakening the bonds that CNTs form with radicals. This allowed a radical polymerization to selectively occur where the bonds were weak, allowing for a selective initiation of the polymerization reaction. These BF-CNTs were then placed at a polymer-polymer interface in which half the nanotube was selectively soluble in each phase, and the interfacial strength was tested with the asymmetric double cantilever beam test. The BF-CNTs showed interfacial toughness strengthening on par or greater than block copolymers, the currently accepted method. BF-CNTs were also created with two different metals on the different ends of the nanotube. This was done by evaporation of the selected metal on each side of a thick vertically aligned nanotube forest. The nanotubes were then tested for a variety of reactions important to upgrading of biomass derived compounds to fuel based products based on the configuration of the metals on the nanotube, either touching or separated. The active sites for three reactions were able to be identified and were either created by promotor effects or were the result of short range interactions between the two components in the bifunctional catalyst system. Hydrogen spillover across the nanotube from one metal to the other was observed in all cases, and is fast enough to not become a rate limiting step in the reactions tested.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/11244/317595
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Carbon Nanotube	en_US
dc.subject	Block Functionalization	en_US
dc.subject	Mass Production	en_US
dc.subject	Catalysis	en_US
dc.thesis.degree	Ph.D.	en_US
dc.title	Methods for block functionalization of carbon nanotubes and applications	en_US
ou.group	Gallogly College of Engineering::School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering	en_US
shareok.nativefileaccess	restricted	en_US