Compositions Comprising Rigid-rod Polymers And Carbon Nanotubes And Process For Making The Same

Abstract

The present invention relates to compositions comprising rigid-rod polymers and carbon nanotubes. The compositions comprise dispersed carbon nanotubes aligned with rigid-rod polymers. The alignment of the nanotubes and polymers can be liquid crystalline. The rigid-rod polymers of this invention include, but are not limited to, polymers and copolymers comprising benzobisazole, pyridobisimidazole and benzamidazobenzo-phenanthroline repeat units. Dispersion of carbon nanotubes is achieved by in-situ polymerization in the presence of the carbon nanotubes, which may be either single-wall or multi-wall or a combination of both. The polymer compositions comprising carbon nanotubes may be spun into fibers or formed into films. The strength of the resulting fibers of the present invention is significantly greater than that of fibers without carbon nanotubes.