@article{2959203,
    title = "Surface initiated ring-opening polymerization of l-proline N-carboxy anhydride from single and multi walled carbon nanotubes",
    author = "Manos Gkikas and Biswa P. Das and Marina Tsianou and Hermis Iatrou and Georgios Sakellariou",
    journal = "European Polymer Journal",
    year = "2013",
    volume = "49",
    number = "10",
    pages = "3095--3103",
    publisher = "ELSEVIER BV",
    issn = "0014-3057",
    doi = "10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2013.07.002",
    keywords = "Diels-Alder cycloadditions;  Functionalized;  L-proline;  N-Carboxyanhydride;  Primary amines;  Surface initiated polymerization;  Surface-initiated;  Uniform layer, Atomic force microscopy;  Carbon nanotubes;  Cycloaddition;  Grafting (chemical);  Thermogravimetric analysis, Polymerization",
    abstract = "Ring-opening surface initiated polymerization of l-proline N-carboxyanhydride was performed from amine functionalized single (SWNTs) and multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The primary amines were grafted on the surfaces via a well-studied Diels-Alder cycloaddition. The initiator attachment helped the debundling of carbon nanotubes as shown by atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies where only small aggregates were observed. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed high wt% of grafted polyproline on the carbon nanotubes surface after the ring-opening polymerization. AFM studies showed a rather uniform layer of grafted polyproline from both MWNTs and SWNTs. The grafting of PLP on the surface was also verified by FTIR and Raman spectroscopy as well as 1H NMR in CDCl3/d-TFA. The polyproline grafted carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were readily dissolved in organic solvents in contrast to the insoluble pristine and amine-functionalized CNTs. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."
}