Patent ID: 8399553

Claim:
A process for the preparation of a carbon nanotube-reinforced polymer comprising the steps of: a) contacting carbon nanotubes in an aqueous medium with a water-soluble component, wherein the water-soluble component is either a water-soluble first polymer or a water-soluble surfactant; b) mixing the resulting product from step a) with an aqueous latex of a second polymer; c) removing water from the mixture obtained from step b); d) heating the product from step c) to a temperature at which the second polymer flows; and e) solidifying the product of step d) into a desired form; wherein the second polymer has both a low molar mass fraction and a high molar mass fraction, the low molar mass fraction having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of between 500 and 20,000 g/mol, the high molar mass fraction having a Mw of between 20,000 and 5,000,000 g/mol, and wherein the low mass fraction is present in the second polymer in an amount greater than 5 wt. % up to at most 40 wt. %.