Uniform dispersion of nanotubes in thermoplastic polymer through thermal annealing

The formation of uniform dispersions from agglomerated carbon nanotubes in polymers is a major challenge for their use in composites. We show that agglomerated carbon nanotubes on top of a thermoplastic polymer are efficiently dispersed when annealing. Annealing is found to disperse carbon nanotubes surprisingly well. We image the dispersion of the nanotubes in the polymer matrix using electron microscopy and Raman mapping. The dispersion of nanotubes depends on whether the tubes are multi, double or single walled. Highly uniform dispersions are found for multi wall tubes while single and double wall carbon nanotubes show less uniform dispersions.