Formation of Polymer-Carbon Nanotube Composites by Two-Step Supercritical Fluid Treatment.

An approach for polymer-carbon nanotube (CNT) composite preparation is proposed based on a two-step supercritical fluid treatment. The first step, rapid expansion of a suspension (RESS) of CNTs in supercritical carbon dioxide, is used to de-bundle CNTs in order to simplify their mixing with polymer in solution. The ability of RESS pre-treatment to de-bundle CNTs and to cause significant bulk volume expansion is demonstrated. The second step is the formation of polymer-CNT composite from solution via supercritical antisolvent (SAS) precipitation. SAS treatment allows avoiding CNT agglomeration during transition from a solution into solid state due to the high speed of phase transition. The combination of these two supercritical fluid methods allowed obtaining a polycarbonate-multiwalled carbon nanotube composite with tensile strength two times higher compared to the initial polymer and enhanced elasticity.

Determination of uptake coefficient for ClO radicals on the surface of mineral salts.

The uptake of ClO radicals on KBr, NaCl, and NaBr dry solid films was studied at 1 Torr pressure of helium over the temperature range 290-350 K using a flow tube technique with a modulated molecular beam mass spectrometer as the detection method. A Pyrex tube with the deposited salt sample was introduced into the flow reactor along its axis. The ClO uptake coefficient on the KBr surface did not depend on temperature within the experimental accuracy of ∼20%. Chlorine oxide radicals were prepared using the reaction of Cl with ozone. It was found out that the ClO uptake coefficient strongly depended on ozone concentration. The uptake coefficients at T = 293 K and [O(3)] = 4.6 × 10(13) molecules cm(-3) were found to be (9.6 ± 5.7) × 10(-4), (3.7 ± 1.5) × 10(-4), and (12.3 ± 3.6) × 10(-4) for KBr, NaCl, and NaBr, respectively. Bromine-containing species were not observed during the interaction of ClO radicals with KBr film. The results obtained indicate that the ClO loss through heterogeneous interaction with salt surface is not sufficiently rapid to compete with gas-phase self-reaction in the atmosphere.