Journal
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
Volume 328, Issue 2, Pages 421-428Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2008.09.015
Keywords
Dispersion; Absorbance; Multiwalled nanotubes; Surfactants
Categories
Funding
- Department of Information and Technology (DIT)
- Ministry of Science and Technology, India
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a challenging task for their utilization in nanoscale device applications. This account reports a comparative analysis on dispersion of muldwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with four surfactants-Triton X-100, Tween 20, Tween 80, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Among the four surfactants, Triton X-100 and SDS provide maximum and minimum dispersion, respectively. Dispersion of MWNTs has been characterized with UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM results are in agreement with the UV-vis measurements. The experimentally observed trend of dispersing power of surfactants is consistent with their chemical structures. An optimum CNT-to-surfactant ratio has been determined for each surfactant. This parameter is shown to affect the nanotube dispersion significantly. Surfactant concentration above or below this ratio is shown to deteriorate the quality of nanotube dispersion. TEM analysis of a high-surfactant-concentration sample enables us to construct a plausible mechanism for decrease in CNT dispersion at high surfactant concentration, consistent with the UV-vis observations. Temperature stability of the surfactant is another important factor affecting the quality of CNT dispersion. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available