High length single-wall carbon nanotubes dispersed in water

COLL 173

Trevor J. Simmons, simmot@rpi.edu, Department of Chemistry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 eighth street, troy, NY 12180
Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) were dispersed in water up to 750 mg/L by employing a combination of polymer (polyvinylpyrrolidone) and surfactant (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate), and these suspensions remain stable over several months. Short low power sonication allows for SWNT of very high length (averaging several microns) to be well dispersed. This nanotube suspension can be dried either by drop-drying or evaporating onto a silica substrate to form a conductive material. This dried material exhibits unique SWNT arrays spanning several micron (up to 30 micron) fissures. This method of suspending long pristine SWNT in water can facilitate the incorporation of SWNT into electronics and composite materials. Additionally the aligned arrays formed during the drying process are unique nanostructures which have many possible applications from gas sensors to electronic composite materials.