Purification and processing of carbon nanotubes using self-assembly and selective interaction with a semiconjugated polymer

Patrick Fournet; Brendan McCarthy; Alan Brian Dalton; Jonathan N. Coleman; Robert J. Murphy; Christophe Stephan; Serge Lefrant; Patrick Bernier; Hugh James Byrne; Werner J. Blau

doi:10.1117/12.452546

27 December 2001 Purification and processing of carbon nanotubes using self-assembly and selective interaction with a semiconjugated polymer

Patrick Fournet, Brendan McCarthy, Alan Brian Dalton, Jonathan N. Coleman, Robert J. Murphy, Christophe Stephan, Serge Lefrant, Patrick Bernier, Hugh James Byrne, Werner J. Blau

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Proceedings Volume 4468, Engineering Thin Films with Ion Beams, Nanoscale Diagnostics, and Molecular Manufacturing; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.452546
Event: International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, 2001, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

A new route for nanotube-based applications in molecular electronics was developed. Individual polymer strands were assembled onto single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) by mechanical agitation. The SWNT hybrid systems have been characterized by electron microscopy (TEM, STM), optical absorption and Raman spectroscopy and a fully nondestructive technique, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), has been developed to estimate the purity of MWNT soot and hybrids. It is demonstrated that solutions of the polymer are capable of suspending nanotubes indefinitely while the majority of the accompanying amorphous graphite precipitates out of solution. Electron microscopy and Raman scattering indicate that through an intercalation process, the ropes of SWNT are destroyed, resulting in individual nanotubes being well dispersed within the polymer matrix. Moreover, Raman and absorption studies suggest that the polymer interacts preferentially with nanotubes of specific diameters or a range of diameters. STM studies showed that the chiral angle of the underlying nanotube is reflected in the polymer coating, demonstrating that the lattice structure of the SWNT templates the ordering in the coating. This could lead to design of specific polymer architectures for selection of desired chiral angles, and hence specific electronic properties.

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Patrick Fournet, Brendan McCarthy, Alan Brian Dalton, Jonathan N. Coleman, Robert J. Murphy, Christophe Stephan, Serge Lefrant, Patrick Bernier, Hugh James Byrne, and Werner J. Blau "Purification and processing of carbon nanotubes using self-assembly and selective interaction with a semiconjugated polymer", Proc. SPIE 4468, Engineering Thin Films with Ion Beams, Nanoscale Diagnostics, and Molecular Manufacturing, (27 December 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.452546

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KEYWORDS

Polymers

Single walled carbon nanotubes

Absorption

Raman spectroscopy

Scanning tunneling microscopy

Transmission electron microscopy

Carbon nanotubes

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