title: Soluble ultra-short single-walled carbon nanotubes.
abstract: Soluble, ultra-short (length < 60 nm), carboxylated, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been prepared by a scalable process. This process, predicated on oleum's (100% H2SO4 with excess SO3) ability to intercalate between individual SWNTs inside SWNT ropes, is a procedure that simultaneously cuts and functionalizes SWNTs using a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acids. The solubility of these ultra-short SWNTs (US-SWNTs) in organic solvents, superacid and water is about 2 wt %. The availability of soluble US-SWNTs could open opportunities for forming high performance composites, blends, and copolymers without inhibiting their processibility.
authors.affiliation: Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
authors.forename: Zheyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Kazufumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobashi
authors.forename: Urs
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rauwald
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Booker
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Wen-Fang
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Tour
mesh_terms: D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010316:Particle Size; D012995:Solubility; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D012997:Solvents