Fullerene grafting in polymeric nanocomposite—a promising strategy

ABSTRACTThis review emphasized structure and features of high performance covalently linked polymer/fullerene nanocomposite. The polymer grafting on fullerene molecules may usually occur through covalent bonding. The covalently linked nanocomposites improved fullerene dispersion and matrix-nanofiller interactions. Fullerene molecules have been grafted to conducting polymers (polyaniline, polythiophene, polythiophene derivatives, etc.) and thermoplastic/thermosetting polymers/block copolymers. The covalent grafting of polymer chains on fullerene molecules may lead to exceptional structural, morphological, electrical, thermal, and other physical properties. Development of unique star-shape/dendritic polymer/fullerene assemblies was also observed. The covalently interconnected polymer/fullerene nanocomposite possess remarkable physical contour for high-tech applications including solar cells, optical sensors, supercapacitors, and biomedical fields.KEYWORDS: Polymerfullerenenanocompositegraftingcovalentinteraction Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsAyesha KausarAyesha Kausar works for National Centre for Physics, Islamabad, Pakistan. She previously worked for Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan and National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan. She obtained her PhD from Quaid-i-Azam University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, South Korea. Dr. Kausar's current research interests include the design, fabrication, characterization, and exploration of structure-property relationships and potential prospects of nanocomposites, polymeric nanocomposites, polymeric composites, polymeric nanoparticles, polymer dots, nanocarbon materials (graphene and derivatives, carbon nanotube, nanodiamond, graphene, carbon nano-onion, carbon nanocoil, carbon nanobelt, carbon nanodisk, carbon dot, and other nanocarbons), hybrid materials, eco-friendly materials, nanocomposite nanofibers, and nano-foam architectures. Consideration of morphological, mechanical, thermal, electrical, anti-corrosion, barrier, flame retardant, radiation shielding, biomedical, and other essential materials properties for aerospace, automotive, fuel cell membranes, Li-ion battery electrodes, electronics, sensors, solar cells, water treatment, gas separation, textiles, energy production and storage devices, biomaterials, and other technical relevance are among her notable research concerns.