title: Dispersion of acid-treated carbon nanofibers into gel matrices prepared by the sol-gel method.
abstract: 1-Naphthol has been used as an in-situ fluorescent probe to characterize the dispersibility of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) into the sol-gel matrix of silicon alkoxide. The ion-pair fluorescence of 1-naphthol was found in the gel dispersing acid-treated CNFs instead of 1Lb fluorescence, which was preferred in the low polar gel matrix. This indicates that 1-naphthol easily interacts with oxidized groups present on the surface of the acid-treated CNFs due to the high dispersibility of the CNFs into the gel matrix. The oxidized groups on the CNF surface are useful for preventing self-assembly and/or aggregation of the CNFs in the gel matrix.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering, Shinshu University, Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Hiromasa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishikiori
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Morinobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.forename: Tsuneo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii