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Novel carbon nanotube composites by grafting reaction with water-compatible redox initiator system

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Abstract

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were chemically functionalized with methacrylic acid and methacrylated bovine serum albumin by free radical grafting reaction to obtain novel nanocomposites. The nanotubes were synthesized by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition, and then the monomers were directly grafted by the action of hydrogen peroxide/ascorbic acid redox pair which allows operating in water-compatible and eco-friendly environment without the generation of any toxic reaction by-product. A multi-technique approach was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the grafting process employing Fourier transform infrared, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analyses. Considering the high importance of methacrylate polymers and bovine serum albumin, the proposed nanocomposites could be of great applicability in biomedical and pharmaceutical fields.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by MIUR (Programma di ricerca di rilevante interesse nazionale 2008), University of Calabria funds. Financial support of Regional Operative Program (ROP) Calabria ESF 2007/2013–IV Axis Human Capital–Operative Objective M″–Action D.5 is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università della Calabria, Edificio Polifunzionale, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy

    Giuseppe Cirillo, Francesco Puoci, Manuela Curcio, Francesca Iemma & Nevio Picci

  2. Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, PF 270116, 01171, Dresden, Germany

    Giuseppe Cirillo, Silke Hampel, Diana Haase, Manfred Ritschel, Albrecht Leonhardt, Vyacheslav Khavrus & Mandy Grobosch

  3. CNISM-Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, Ponte Bucci, Cubo 33c, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, CS, Italy

    Tommaso Caruso

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  1. Giuseppe Cirillo
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  2. Tommaso Caruso
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Correspondence to Giuseppe Cirillo.

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Cirillo, G., Caruso, T., Hampel, S. et al. Novel carbon nanotube composites by grafting reaction with water-compatible redox initiator system. Colloid Polym Sci 291, 699–708 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-012-2779-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-012-2779-7

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