PMMA functionalized boron nitride sheets as nanofillers

We report the functionalization of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) with polymer chains. These chains are grown by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from hBN following thermal treatment. When used as a nanofiller, the material shows improved dispersion resulting in significantly improved toughness as compared to pristine hBN without polymer functionalization. The polymer functionalized BN is also characterized by TGA, FTIR and FESEM.