Continuous, Electrokinetic Separation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Using Selective Covalent Chemistry: Theory and Experiment

We have developed and validated a simplified transport model in the semi-dilute regime that describes the transport behavior of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in an electric field as a function of various parameters such as applied field, diffusivity and surface charge. This model provides insight into the motion of charged SWNT and their collective behavior. Based on this modeling, we performed experimental separation of negatively charged SWNT, the results of which matched well with the simulation results and established a basis for industrial-scale separation of SWNT.