Enhanced electromagnetic loss of polybenzoxazole copolymerized with etched multiwalled carbon nanotube via direct Friedel–Crafts acylation

Etched multiwalled carbon nanotube (EMCNT) was prepared via an in situ reaction between Si and MCNT induced by the reaction between Na and I₂. Subsequently, EMCNTs was subjected to a copolymerization reaction with 4,6-diaminoresorcinol salt (DAR·2HCl) and terephthalic acid (TA) in polyphosphoric acid (PPA) by Friedel–Crafts acylation reaction without any acid treatment or modification. The structure and morphology of the as-prepared poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO)/EMCNT nanocomposites were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The scanning electronic microscope (SEM) images indicated that the EMCNTs can disperse in PBO matrix uniformly without agglomeration. And the electromagnetic properties of the obtained PBO/EMCNT nanocomposites characterized by vector network analyzer (VNA) showed that the introduced PBO/EMCNT composites exhibited a greater enhancement in dielectric loss and magnetic loss than PBO. (papers)