Sidewall functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with amino acids of different chain length and their aqueous solubility over a wide pH range

INOR 654

Liling Zeng, Department of Chemistry, Rice University, 6100 S. Main, Houston, TX 77005 and Andrew R. Barron, arb@rice.edu, Department of Chemistry, Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005.
We prepared amino acid functionalized Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs), SWNT-NH-(CH2)n-COOH, (n=1, 5, 10), with fluorinated SWNTs. TGA and XPS studies show similar level of functionalization. However, the solubility in water is controlled by the length of the hydrocarbon side chain (i.e., n). The 6-aminohexanoic acid derivative (AHA-SWNT) is the only one soluble in aqueous solution (0.5 mg/mL). The pH dependence of its solubility appears to be controlled only by the pKa of the acid and the ionic strength of the solution. The water soluble AHA-SWNTs has potential applications in drug delivery and sensors fabrication.
 

Nanoscience: Synthesis and Characterization
7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Sci-Mix

Division of Inorganic Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007