Purification and opening of carbon nanotubes using steam.
Purification and opening of carbon nanotubes has been carried out by treatment of as-made single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with pure steam at 1 atm pressure. Treated samples have been characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and IR and Raman spectroscopy. Comparison between the steam purification and the standard nitric acid purification treatment shows that steam is less aggressive toward damage to the tubular nanotube wall structure and forms fewer functional groups.
Tobias
Gerard
G
Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QR, UK. gerard.tobias@chem.ox.ac.uk
Shao
Lidong
L
Salzmann
Christoph G
CG
Huh
Yoon
Y
Green
Malcolm L H
ML