Ordering in a droplet of an aqueous suspension of single-wall carbon nanotubes on a solid substrate.
We report on a series of experiments on the aqueous, nematic liquid crystalline phase of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and their ordered assemblies on the solid substrates. The nanotubes were dispersed at a low concentration of isotropic phase, and the concentration was gradually increased by the controlled evaporation of water. In-situ isotropic-to-liquid crystalline phase transition via a biphasic region was observed during water evaporation. Drying on a substrate demonstrated the effect of surface fields on the order and alignment of SWNTs in the liquid suspension and the influence on the structure of the deposited nanotubes after evaporation.
Zhang
Shanju
S
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.
Li
Qingwen
Q
Kinloch
Ian A
IA
Windle
Alan H
AH