Facile and stable dispersion of carbon nanotubes into a hydrogel composed of a low molecular-weight gelator bearing a tautomeric dye group

It was found that single-walled carbon nanotubes are stably dispersed into a low molecular-weight hydrogel (beta-D-glucopyranoside-azonaphthol conjugate). From absorption and fluorescence spectral observations and microscopic images, it was shown that this gelator tends to orientate on the surface of SWNTs and specifically emits fluorescence light.