Claims

1. A method of preparing a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising: combining a quantity of single-walled carbon nanotubes with an aqueous surfactant to form a surfactant-nanotube mixture; sonicating the surfactant-nanotube mixture to form a surfactant-nanotube dispersion; combining a polymerization initiator with the surfactant-nanotube dispersion to form a surfactant-nanotube-initiator mixture; combining a quantity of a monomer with a quantity of a hydrophobe to form a monomer-hydrophobe mixture; combining a polymerization catalyst with the monomer-hydrophobe mixture to form a monomer-hydrophobe-polymerization catalyst mixture; combining the surfactant-nanotube-initiator mixture with the monomer-hydrophobe-polymerization catalyst mixture to form a monomer-nanotube mixture; and sonicating the monomer-nanotube mixture causing formation of a monomer-nanotube miniemulsion within which polymerization occurs thereby forming the carbon nanotube-filled composite.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of combining a quantity of single-walled carbon nanotubes, the single-walled carbon nanotubes are functionalized.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of combining a quantity of single-walled carbon nanotubes, the single-walled carbon nanotubes are associated with a catalyst material comprising at least a portion of the catalyst material used for their growth.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the catalyst material comprises a metal selected from Group VIb and a metal selected from Group VIII.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the catalyst material comprises Co and Mo.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the catalyst material comprises a support material selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, molecular sieve zeolites, MCM-41, MgO, ZrO₂, and aluminum-stabilized magnesium oxides.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein the catalyst material comprises a hydrophilic silica or a hydrophobic silica as a support material.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of combining a quantity of single-walled carbon nanotubes with an aqueous surfactant, the aqueous surfactant is cationic, anionic, or non-ionic.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the surfactant is at least one of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (NaDDBS), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), octadecylpyridinium bromide (ODPB), poly(ethylene oxide) derivatives such as nonylphenol polyethoxylate (NP-40), polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), tergitol, or combinations thereof.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of combining a polymerization initiator, the polymerization initiator is at least one of lauroyl peroxide (LPO), cumyl peroxide (CUPO), benzoyl peroxide (BPO), sodium persulfate (NaPS) and potassium persulfate (KPS), 2,2'-azobiisobutyronitrile (AIBN), or 2,2'-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (V50).

11. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of combining a quantity of monomer with a hydrophobe, the monomer is at least one of styrene, isoprene, vinyl benzyl chloride (VBC), vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, acrylamide (AM), acrylonitrile (AN), acrylic acid (AA), methacrylates, e.g., methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl methacrylate (BuA), lauryl methacrylate (LMA), dodecyl methacrylate (DMA), and stearyl methacrylate (SMA), epoxy resins (diamine/diepoxide), or combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of combining a quantity of monomer with a hydrophobe, the hydrophobe is at least one of cetylalcohol (CA), siloxanes, fluorinated alkanes, isocyanates, hexadecane, olive oil, or combinations thereof.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of combining a polymerization catalyst, the polymerization catalyst is AlCl_3.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein in the step of sonicating the monomer-nanotube mixture causing the formation of a monomer-nanotube miniemulsion, the monomer-nanotube miniemulsion primarily comprises aggregates having diameters of 50-500 nm.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the aggregates primarily have diameters of 50-125 nm.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the aggregates primarily have diameters of 50-100 nm.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the carbon nanotube-filled composite has an electrical resistivity of less than 10⁵ Ω-cm.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the carbon nanotube-filled composite has an electrical resistivity of less than 10⁷ Ω-cm.

19-36. (canceled)

37. A method of forming a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising combining single-walled carbon nanotubes with a single monomer or two or more different monomers in a single hydrophobe to form a nanotube-monomer mixture and exposing the nanotube-monomer mixture to polymerization conditions wherein the polymerization of the monomer or monomers occurs in the presence of the single-walled carbon nanotubes to form the carbon nanotube-filled composite.

38. (canceled)

39. A method of forming a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising combining single-walled carbon nanotubes with a monomer to form a nanotube-monomer mixture wherein the single-walled carbon nanotubes are still associated with a catalytic material upon which the single-walled carbon nanotubes are grown, and exposing the nanotube-monomer mixture to polymerization conditions wherein the polymerization of the monomer occurs in the presence of the single-walled carbon nanotubes to form the carbon nanotube-filled composite comprising the catalytic material.

40. A method of forming a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising combining single-walled carbon nanotubes with a monomer to form a nanotube-monomer mixture wherein the single-walled carbon nanotubes are still associated with a catalytic material upon which the single-walled carbon nanotubes are grown, and exposing the nanotube-monomer mixture to polymerization conditions wherein the polymerization of the monomer occurs in the presence of the single-walled carbon nanotubes to form the carbon nanotube-filled composite comprising the catalytic material, wherein the catalytic material comprises a metal selected from Group VIb and a metal selected from Group VIII.

41. A method of forming a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising combining single-walled carbon nanotubes with a monomer to form a nanotube-monomer mixture wherein the single-walled carbon nanotubes are still associated with a catalytic material upon which the single-walled carbon nanotubes are grown, and exposing the nanotube-monomer mixture to polymerization conditions wherein the polymerization of the monomer occurs in the presence of the single-walled carbon nanotubes to form the carbon nanotube-filled composite comprising the catalytic material, wherein the catalytic material comprises Co and Mo.

42. A method of forming a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising combining single-walled carbon nanotubes with a monomer to form a nanotube-monomer mixture wherein the single-walled carbon nanotubes are still associated with a catalytic material upon which the single-walled carbon nanotubes are grown, and exposing the nanotube-monomer mixture to polymerization conditions wherein the polymerization of the monomer occurs in the presence of the single-walled carbon nanotubes to form the carbon nanotube-filled composite comprising the catalytic material, wherein the catalytic material comprises a support material selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, molecular sieve zeolites, MCM-41, MgO, ZrO₂, and aluminum-stabilized magnesium oxides.

43. A method of forming a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising combining single-walled carbon nanotubes with a monomer to form a nanotube-monomer mixture wherein the single-walled carbon nanotubes are still associated with a catalytic material upon which the single-walled carbon nanotubes are crown, and exposing the nanotube-monomer mixture to polymerization conditions wherein the polymerization of the monomer occurs in the presence of the single-walled carbon nanotubes to form the carbon nanotube-filled composite comprising the catalytic material, wherein the catalytic particle comprises precipitated silica or fumed silica or a combination thereof as a support material.

44. A carbon nanotube-filled composite produced by the method of claim 39, the carbon nanotube-filled composite comprising catalytic material used to grow the single-walled carbon nanotubes and wherein the catalytic material is selected from the group consisting of a Group VIb metal and a Group VIII metal supported on a support material selected from the group consisting of silica, precipitated silica, fumed silica, alumina, molecular sieve zeolites, MCM-41, MgO, ZrO₂, and aluminum-stabilized magnesium oxides.

45. A method of preparing a carbon nanotube-filled composite, comprising: combining a quantity of single-walled carbon nanotubes with an aqueous surfactant to form a surfactant-nanotube mixture, wherein the single-walled carbon nanotubes are still associated with a catalytic material upon which the single-walled carbon nanotubes are grown; sonicating the surfactant-nanotube mixture to form a surfactant-nanotube dispersion; providing a monomer; providing a polymerization catalyst; providing a polymerization initiator; and combining the surfactant-nanotube dispersion with the monomer, polymerization catalyst, and polymerization initiator under polymerization conditions to cause in-situ polymerization of the monomer with the single-walled carbon nanotubes forming the carbon nanotube-filled composite.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein in the step of combining a quantity of single-walled carbon nanotubes, the single-walled carbon nanotubes are functionalized.

47. The method of claim 45 wherein the catalytic material comprises a metal selected from Group VIb and a metal selected from Group VIII.

48. The method of claim 45 wherein the catalytic material comprises Co and Mo.

49. The method of claim 45 wherein the catalytic material comprises a support material selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina, molecular sieve zeolites, MCM-41, MgO, ZrO₂, and aluminum-stabilized magnesium oxides.

50. The method of claim 45 wherein the catalytic material comprises a hydrophilic silica or a hydrophobic silica as a support material.

51-59. (canceled)

60. A carbon nanotube-filled composite comprising a polymeric material and single-walled carbon nanotubes and comprising catalytic material used to grow the single-walled carbon nanotubes.