Self-assembly and synthesis of PS-b-PVDF-b-PS/MWCNTs hybrid nanocomposites for supercapacitors

Abstract

The main purpose of this project is to produce novel hybrid nanocomposites of block copolymers and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for use as supercapacitors. The block copolymer polystyrene-block-poly(vinylidene fluoride)-block-polystyrene (PS-b-PVDF-b-PS) will be synthetized by the atom transfer radical polymerization technique (ATRP) which enables the self-assembly of the copolymer into well-ordered structures. The MWCNTs will be mixed with PS-b-PVDF-b-PS by solution and casting to form hybrid dieletric nanocomposites (HDNs). The potential of these HDNs for use as supercapacitors will be evaluated by electrical conductivity measurements and impedance spectroscopy and its morphology by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) will also be employed to characterize the copolymers and it's nanocomposites. The study will provide correlations between the structure developed by these new systems and their synthesis and processing conditions in order to obtain the best appropriate arrangements for the production of nanocomposites with high dielectric constant and permittivity, lower rates of energy loss and better processabilities. The research internship abroad will be run at Zernike Institute for advanced materials, University of Groningen, Netherlands, for a period of seven months under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Katja Loos. This laboratory is an excellence center in their area and the abroad experience will contribute enormously with the doctoral project purposes, mainly in the learning of new chemical routes to synthetize HDNs and the self-assembly of block copolymers. This project is a second step of the doctoral project as already explained in the original doctoral project (FAPESP 2014/17597-2). After these first seven months, we are planning to return to Brazil to continue and finish the doctoral project. (AU)