Separation of Armchair SWNTs by Using Polymer Conformation Guided Assembly
Abstract
Isolation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) remains to be a key step for realization of the true potential of SWNTs, since the physical properties of SWNTs are dependent on the tube s chirality index (n, m). Polymers with enhanced helical conformation are found to be an efficient sorting mechanism for SWNTs, as the cavity of polymer s helical conformation can be tailored to facilitate an intimate interaction between polymer and SWNTs. Poly[(m-phenylenevinylene) (PmPV) demonstrates that the polymer helical conformation can be controlled to sort the SWNTs by their diameters. Poly[(m-phenyleneethynylene)-alt-(p-phenyleneethynylene)] (PPE) reveals the intriguing selectivity toward tube (6,5), illustrating the impact of carbon-carbon triple bonds on the SWNTs selectivity. In another approach, polyethyleneimine (PEI) is found to exhibit selective interaction with semiconducting SWNTs. By using this property, cellulose impregnated with PEI is found to be a column packing materials for separation of metallic SWNTs from a raw HiPco sample. Analysis by AFM, 2D fluorescence and UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra suggests that the metallic SWNTs (13,4) can be separated from the armchair SWNTs (10,10) and (9,9).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 22, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA585824
Entities
People
- Alexei P. Sokolov
- Xiao-qian Wang
- Yi Pang
Organizations
- University of Akron