Development of Carbon Nanotube (CNT)-philic surfactant design for latex technology

The aim of this study is to investigate the roles played by the chemical nature of the CNT-philic surfactant for dispersing MWCNTs in polymer matrix. In this respect, the performance of single-, double-, and triple- chain anionic sulphosuccinate surfactants for the dispersion of MWNCTs in natural rubber latex (NR-latex) via latex technology was studied using a range of techniques, including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The conductivities of the nanocomposites were also measured using four point probe instruments. The results show MWCNTs were efficiently dispersed in NR-latex with an aid of hyper- and benzene ring- branched triple-chain sulphosuccinate anionic surfactants, namely, sodium 1,4-bis (neopentyloxy)-3- (neopentyloxycarbonyl)-l ,4-dioxobutane-2-sulphonate (TC14) and sodium 1,5- dioxo-l,5-bis (3-phenylpropoxy)-3-((3-phenylpropoxy)carbonyl)pentane-2-sulphonate (TCPh), respectively. Importantly, compared to commercially available surfactants sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulphonate (SDBS), the use of TC14 and TCPh surfactants exhibits more homogeneously dispersion of MWCNTs. This indicates the performance ofTC14 and TCPh as dispersants is better than both of commercially available surfactants. This study generates a fundamental understanding of the molecular structure requirements for surfactants to disperse MWCNTs via latex technology approach.