Chemical Modification and Characterization of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Using Octadecylamine and Polyethylene Glycol

Chemical modification of MWCNTs via oxidation followed by side wall functionalization using polyethylene glycol （PEG） and octadecylamine （ODA）, separately, was studied. Different characterization techniques such as FTIR spectrometery, thermogravimetric analysis （TGA）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, and solubility in different solvents were performed for the oxidized MWCNTs, MWCNTs-PEG and MWCNTs-ODA. The characterization techniques proved the presence of the functional groups on the MWCNTs surface. Thermal gravimetric analysis revealed that nearly 16% （by weight） of the MWCNTs were functionalized with PEG and 39% （by weight） was functionalized with ODA.