Utilizing nanoscale materials and dispersants, surfactants or stabilizing molecules, methods of making the same, and the products produced therefrom

A method of forming a film on a substrate, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) blending a solvent with a first nanoscale material, a second nanoscale material acting as a dispersant, a surfactant, or a stabilizing molecule for the first nanoscale material, an optional dopant material, and one or more monomers of a polymer, so as to form a liquid phase nanoparticle blend, wherein said polymer is obtainable from said one or more monomers by curing, and wherein said second nanoscale material is present in said blend in an amount of from 5 wt. % to 500 wt. % of a total amount of the first nanoscale material present in the blend, and wherein said first nanoscale material is present in said liquid phase nanoparticle blend in an amount of from about 1% to 5% of the blend;
• b) processing said liquid phase nanoparticle blend so as to deagglomerate and disperse the first nanoscale material and the second nanoscale material in said blend and thus to form a stable dispersion, in which 100% of the first nanoscale material dispersed in said stable dispersion remains in suspension for at least 24 hours and at least 70% of the first nanoscale material dispersed in said stable dispersion remains in suspension for at least one week;
• c) depositing said stable dispersion on a substrate;
• and then
• d) forming a film on the substrate from said stable dispersion deposited on said substrate;
• wherein said first nanoscale material is not functionalized and consists of single-walled carbon nanotubes;
• wherein said second nanoscale material is the dispersant, the surfactant, or the stabilizing molecule for the first nanoscale material, and said second nanoscale material consists of graphene oxide;
• wherein said solvent is selected so that said second nanoscale material acting as said dispersant, said surfactant, or said stabilizing molecule is soluble in said solvent;
• and
• wherein said blend includes no other dispersant, and no other surfactant, and no other stabilizing molecule besides said second nanoscale material;
• and whereby washing and/or rinsing the film produced in step d) in order to improve at least one property of said film is eliminated by including the graphene oxide in said blend, said at least one film property being selected from the group consisting of electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, optical properties, magnetic properties, kinetic properties and mechanical properties of the film.

A method of forming a polymeric nanocomposite material including a first nanoscale material and a second nanoscale material, wherein said second nanoscale material is present in an amount from 5 wt. % to 500 wt. % of the total amount of the first nanoscale material, said method comprising:

• a) blending said first and second nanoscale materials, and a monomer or monomers of a polymer with a solvent, in order to form a blend thereof;
• and wherein said first nanoscale material is present in said blend in an amount of from about 1% to 5% of the blend;
• and
• b) processing said blend so as to deagglomerate and disperse the first nanoscale material as well as the second nanoscale material in said blend, said second nanoscale material acting as a dispersant or a surfactant for said first nanoscale material, and thus to form a stable dispersion in which 100% of the first nanoparticle material dispersed in said stable dispersion remains in suspension for at least 24 hours and at least 70% of the first nanoscale material dispersed in said stable dispersion remains in suspension for at least one week;
• and c) forming the polymeric nanocomposite material by polymerization of said monomer or monomers in the stable dispersion;
• and
• wherein said first nanoscale material is not functionalized and consists of single-walled carbon nanotubes;
• wherein said second nanoscale material is graphene oxide;
• wherein said blend includes no other dispersant and no other surfactant besides said second nanoscale material;
• and wherein said solvent is selected so that said second nanoscale material acting as said dispersant or said surfactant is soluble in said solvent;
• whereby washing and/or rinsing the polymeric nanocomposite material produced in step c) in order to improve at least one property of said polymeric nanocomposite material is eliminated by including the graphene oxide in said blend, said at least one property being selected from the group consisting of electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, optical properties, magnetic properties, kinetic properties and mechanical properties of the polymeric nanocomposite material.