Journal
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Volume 2011, Issue 15, Pages 2801-2806Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.201100077
Keywords
Nanotubes; SWNT composites; Cyclodextrins; Photoswitching; Sol-gel processes; Phase transitions
Categories
Funding
- Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We propose a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) composite with a molecular recognition property, which is prepared by mixing a-cyclodextrin-modified curdlan (CD-CUR) with SWNTs in water. The visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectrum of the CD-CUR/SWNT composite exhibits characteristic absorption bands corresponding to the band-gap transitions for van Hove singularities of metallic and semiconductor carbon nanotubes. The structure of the CD-CUR/SWNT composites was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The TEM and AFM images show that the CD-CUR/SWNT composite exhibits dispersed fibers with a narrow fiber diameter distribution, which suggests that CD-CUR helically wraps around SWNTs to form one-dimensional superstructural composites. Because we hypothesized that the CD-CUR/SWNT composite possesses a molecular recognition property, we attempted to create supramolecular hydrogels containing SWNTs by using a CD-CUR/SWNT composite and a guest polymer (pAC(12)Azo) with an azobenzene guest pendant. The CD-CUR/SWNT composite selectively forms supramolecular hydrogels with pAC12Azo. UV irradiation (lambda = 365 nm) of the supramolecular hydrogel decreases the viscosity upon isomerization of the trans-azo group to give the sol. In contrast, irradiation with visible light at lambda = 430 nm (or heating) of the sol state recovers the viscosity to restore the hydrogel within 2 min, indicating that irradiation affects the association and dissociation between the alpha-CD unit and the azobenzene unit during phase transition. In summary, we demonstrate the formation of a CD-CUR/SWNT composite and a photoresponsive sol-gel supramolecular SWNT hydrogel.
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