Novel HTPB/MWNTs-COOH PU Conductive Polymer Composite Films for Detection of Hazardous Organic Solvent Vapors

Abstract

A novel polyurethane (PU) conducting composite film was developed by a simple coupling reaction route. The morphologies and structural characterization were conducted by means of FTIR, UV-vis, XRD, TEM, TGA and POM. The influence of the MWNTs-COOH loading amount and curing temperature on response was investigated. The results indicated that the films displayed strong and selective response to some non-polar organic solvent vapor, and have long-term stability. The film loading 15.5 wt% conductive filler exhibited higher response. As the curing temperature is increased, the response is increased, demonstrating the potential for developing a new class of stable and sensitive sensors.

Keywords:

• Carbon nanotube
• Composites
• Conducting polymers
• Thin films

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (GK200901003) and Graduate Education Innovation Funds (2010CXB001).