{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T17:16:29Z","timestamp":1791047789290,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2012,10,26]],"date-time":"2012-10-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1351209600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The polymer nanocomposite used in this work comprises elastomer poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as a polymer matrix and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a conductive nanofiller. To achieve uniform distribution of carbon nanotubes within the polymer, an optimized dispersion process was developed, featuring a strong organic solvent\u2014chloroform, which dissolved PDMS base polymer easily and allowed high quality dispersion of MWCNTs. At concentrations as high as 9 wt.%, MWCNTs were dispersed uniformly through the polymer matrix, which presented a major improvement over prior techniques. The dispersion procedure was optimized via extended experimentation, which is discussed in detail.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nano2040329","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2012,10,26]],"date-time":"2012-10-26T11:07:39Z","timestamp":1351249659000},"page":"329-347","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":198,"title":["Improved Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes in Polymers at High Concentrations"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"2","author":[{"given":"Chao-Xuan","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9210-9681","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jin-Woo","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA"},{"name":"Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,10,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"737","DOI":"10.1088\/0964-1726\/15\/3\/009","article-title":"A carbon nanotube strain sensor for structural health monitoring","volume":"15","author":"Kang","year":"2006","journal-title":"Smart Mater. Struct."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"209","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesb.2007.02.024","article-title":"Processing and modeling of conductive thermoplastic\/carbon nanotube films for strain sensing","volume":"39","author":"Pham","year":"2008","journal-title":"Compos. Part B"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"960","DOI":"10.1166\/jnn.2006.171","article-title":"Carbon nanotube\/polycarbonate composites as multifunctional strain sensors","volume":"6","author":"Zhang","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Umbrecht, F., Wendlandt, M., Juncker, D., Hierold, C., and Neuenschwander, J. (,  2005). A Wireless Implantable Passive Strain Sensor System. Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE Sensors Conference, Irvine, CA, USA."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liu, Y., Chakrabartty, S., Gkinosatis, D.S., Mohanty, A.K., and Lajnef, N. (,  2007). Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes\/poly(l-lactide) Nanocomposite Strain Sensor for Biomechanical Implants. Proceedings of Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference (IEEE BIOCAS 2007), Montreal, Canada.","DOI":"10.1109\/BIOCAS.2007.4463323"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1016\/0924-4247(93)80143-5","article-title":"Fabrication of a thin-film strain-gauge transducer using Bi2O3-V2O5","volume":"36","author":"Arshak","year":"1993","journal-title":"Sens. Actuators A"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10989","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polymer.2005.09.039","article-title":"Stress softening experiments in silica-filled polydimethylsiloxane provide insight into a mechanism for the mullins effect","volume":"46","author":"Hanson","year":"2005","journal-title":"Polymer"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1097\/00000637-198307000-00006","article-title":"Biocompatibility of silicone implants","volume":"11","author":"Heggers","year":"1983","journal-title":"Ann. Plast. Surg."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3273","DOI":"10.1002\/polb.20597","article-title":"AC and DC percolative conductivity of single wall carbon nanotube polymer composites","volume":"43","author":"McLachlan","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Polym. Sci. Part B"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1038\/354056a0","article-title":"Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon","volume":"354","author":"Iijima","year":"1991","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"480","DOI":"10.1016\/j.trac.2005.11.008","article-title":"Analytical applications of carbon nanotubes: A review","volume":"25","author":"Trojanowicz","year":"2006","journal-title":"Trends Anal. Chem."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1486","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compscitech.2008.06.018","article-title":"A review and analysis of electrical percolation in carbon nanotube polymer composites","volume":"69","author":"Bauhofer","year":"2009","journal-title":"Compos. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"637","DOI":"10.1126\/science.287.5453.637","article-title":"Strength and breaking mechanism of multiwalled carbon nanotubes under tensile load","volume":"287","author":"Yu","year":"2000","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4907","DOI":"10.1016\/j.polymer.2007.06.046","article-title":"Multiwall carbon nanotube elastomeric composites: A review","volume":"48","author":"Bokobza","year":"2007","journal-title":"Polymer"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"63","DOI":"10.1007\/s12289-008-0376-6","article-title":"Dispersion and rheology of carbon nanotubes in polymers","volume":"1","author":"Huang","year":"2008","journal-title":"Int. J. Mater. Form."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13104","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevB.62.13104","article-title":"Carbon nanotubes, buckyballs, ropes, and a universal graphitic potential","volume":"62","author":"Girifalco","year":"2000","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. B"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.1002\/1439-2054(20020601)287:6<395::AID-MAME395>3.0.CO;2-S","article-title":"Fabrication of carbon multiwall nanotube\/polymer composites by shear mixing","volume":"287","author":"Andrews","year":"2002","journal-title":"Macromol. Mater. Eng."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1016\/j.colsurfa.2008.02.031","article-title":"Characteristics of ultrasonic dispersion of carbon nanotubes aided by antifoam","volume":"322","author":"Sato","year":"2008","journal-title":"Colloids Surf. A"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.1016\/S0009-2614(02)00248-8","article-title":"Effect of ball milling on morphology of cup-stacked carbon nanotubes","volume":"355","author":"Kim","year":"2002","journal-title":"Chem. Phys. Lett."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"535","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jcis.2006.09.021","article-title":"Experimental investigation of nanoparticle dispersion by beads milling with centrifugal bead separation","volume":"304","author":"Inkyo","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Colloid Interface Sci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125422","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevB.73.125422","article-title":"Dispersion rheology of carbon nanotubes in a polymer matrix","volume":"73","author":"Huang","year":"2006","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. B"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compscitech.2009.12.023","article-title":"Effects of surface-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the properties of poly(dimethyl siloxane) nanocomposites","volume":"70","author":"Chua","year":"2010","journal-title":"Compos. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"359","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cap.2009.06.028","article-title":"Effect of dispersion state of carbon nanotube on the thermal conductivity of poly(dimethyl siloxane) composites","volume":"10","author":"Hong","year":"2010","journal-title":"Curr. Appl. Phys."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17626","DOI":"10.1021\/jp901082c","article-title":"Electrical and dielectric properties of hydroxylated carbon nanotube\u2212elastomer composites","volume":"113","author":"Kohlmeyer","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106","DOI":"10.1016\/j.carbon.2010.08.048","article-title":"Poly(3-hexylthiophene) wrapped carbon nanotube\/poly(dimethylsiloxane) composites for use in finger-sensing piezoresistive pressure sensors","volume":"49","author":"Hwang","year":"2011","journal-title":"Carbon"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5272","DOI":"10.1002\/pola.23576","article-title":"PVA networks grafted with PDMS branches","volume":"47","author":"Subramanyam","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Polym. Sci. Part A"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1203","DOI":"10.1016\/j.matlet.2009.02.043","article-title":"Preparation, characterization and micromolding of multi-walled carbon nanotube polydimethylsiloxane conducting nanocomposite polymer","volume":"63","author":"Khosla","year":"2009","journal-title":"Mater. Lett."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2079","DOI":"10.1002\/app.11160","article-title":"Polypropylene fibers reinforced with carbon nanotubes","volume":"86","author":"Kearns","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Appl. Polym. Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155503","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.92.155503","article-title":"Effect of monomer geometry on the fractal structure of colloidal rod aggregates","volume":"92","author":"Mohraz","year":"2004","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Lett."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148301","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.89.148301","article-title":"Enhanced kinetics and free-volume universality in dense aggregating systems","volume":"89","author":"Fry","year":"2002","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Lett."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3996","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.81.3996","article-title":"Metastability and depletion-driven aggregation","volume":"81","author":"Hobbie","year":"1998","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Lett."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8080","DOI":"10.1063\/1.1609972","article-title":"Shear-induced mesostructure in nanoplatelet-polymer networks","volume":"119","author":"Schmidt","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Chem. Phys."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"325708","DOI":"10.1088\/0957-4484\/20\/32\/325708","article-title":"A quantitative assessment of carbon nanotube dispersion in polymer matrices","volume":"20","author":"Lillehei","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nanotechnology"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"518","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compscitech.2009.12.004","article-title":"Preparation and mechanical characterization of laser ablated single-walled carbon-nanotubes\/polyurethane nanocomposite microbeams","volume":"70","author":"Lebel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Compos. Sci. Technol."}],"container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-4991\/2\/4\/329\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T21:53:08Z","timestamp":1760219588000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2079-4991\/2\/4\/329"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2012,10,26]]},"references-count":34,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,12]]}},"alternative-id":["nano2040329"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/nano2040329","relation":{},"ISSN":["2079-4991"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2079-4991","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2012,10,26]]}}}