title: Fluorescence labeling and quantification of oxygen-containing functionalities on the surface of single-walled carbon nanotubes.
abstract: Fluorescence labeling of surface species (FLOSS) was applied to identify and determine the concentration of oxygen-containing functionalities on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), subjected to two different purification processes (air/HCl and nitric acid treatments) and compared to as-received (nonpurified) SWCNTs. The fluorophores were selected for their ability to covalently bind, with high specificity, to specific types of functionalities (OH, COOH, and CHO). FLOSS revealed that even as-received SWCNTs are not pristine and contain approximately 0.6 atomic % oxygen functionalities. FLOSS showed that, after nitric acid treatment, SWCNTs are approximately 5 times more functionalized than SWCNTs after air/HCl purification (5 versus 1 atomic % oxygen functionalities), supporting the idea that the former purification process is more aggressive than the latter. FLOSS demonstrated that carbonyls are the major functionalities on nitric-acid-purified SWCNTs, suggesting that chemical derivatization strategies might consider exploiting aldehyde or ketone chemistry.
authors: Department of Chemistry, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA.
authors: Nikolay
authors: N
authors: Dementev
authors: Xue
authors: X
authors: Feng
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Borguet