Core-shell nanostructures of covalently grafted polyaniline multi-walled carbon nanotube hybrids for improved optical limiting.

Polyaniline multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) hybrids are synthesized by the in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of phenylenediamine-functionalized MWCNTs. Along with the aniline monomer, the aniline moiety on the surface of phenylenediamine-functionalized MWCNTs also participates in the polymerization and acts as a covalent bridge between the polyaniline and the MWCNT. The photoluminescence quenching in the hybrid, due to the electron transfer between the polyaniline and the MWCNT, and the resulting improvement in optical limiting are also discussed. The large nonlinear absorption coefficient with the low-limiting threshold of the hybrids compared to polyaniline is attributed to the combined nonlinear optical (NLO) mechanisms and the photo-induced electron transfer interactions.