In Situ Synthesis of Electrically Conductive Acrylate Terpolymers/MWCNT Nanocomposites

ABSTRACT This work reports a strategy for synthesizing flexible and electrically conductive polyacrylate nanocomposites. The strategy involves the in situ terpolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), n‐butyl acrylate (BA), and methyl acrylate (MA) in the presence of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). By modulating the comonomer composition, a series of poly(MMA‐co‐BA‐co‐MA) terpolymers were synthesized via free radical terpolymerizations, yielding materials with tunable mechanical properties ranging from flexible to tough. The most promising terpolymer composition of MMA:BA:MA (50:25:25), was selected to fabricate nanocomposites with 1.5 to 2.0 wt.% MWCNTs. High comonomer conversions (80%–89%) were achieved via in situ polymerization and were unaffected by the MWCNTs content. Terpolymer compositions were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), while molecular weight and thermal properties were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed the thermal stability and actual MWCNTs loading in the composites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed good adherence of MWCNTs in the polymeric matrix. Electrical characterization demonstrated that the nanocomposites achieved semiconductor‐level conductivity of approximately 0.5 S m − 1 . Nanocomposites exhibited a decrease in stiffness and strength accompanied by an increase in ductility. These findings establish that in situ terpolymerization with MWCNTs is an effective route for developing flexible polyacrylate‐based materials with conductive properties suitable for advanced applications.