Characterization of the disaggregation state of single-walled carbon nanotube bundles by dielectrophoresis and Raman spectroscopy

We have used a combination of dielectrophoretic assembly and Raman spectroscopy to characterize the disaggregation state of bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The presence of semiconducting nanotubes following assembly indicates incomplete disaggregation of the nanotubes in the surfactant/solvent. We show that this combined technique is a more sensitive measure of the aggregation state of nanotubes than either optical absorption measurement or Raman spectroscopy alone.