Fabrication of metal nanoparticles on highly dispersed pristine carbon nanotubes

Abstract

A convenient approach to fabricate metal (i.e. gold, platinum, and palladium) nanoparticles on highly dispersed pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was developed using a conjugated block copolymer of poly(3-hexylthiophene)-b-poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (P3HT-b-PVP). P3HT-b-PVP not only provides a stable dispersion of pristine CNTs through the π–π interactions between P3HT block and CNTs, but also introduces PVP groups on CNT surfaces to induce the heterogeneous nucleation of metal nanoparticles and protect them from aggregating. The density of metal nanoparticles on CNT surfaces was controlled by the metal salt/CNT feed ratio. The simple processing procedure, versatility in synthesizing various metal nanoparticles, high metal nanoparticle loading capacity, and excellent dispersibility and processability of the product make this approach a promising method to fabricate metal nanoparticles on CNTs.