title: Ammonium Laurate Surfactant for Cleaner Deposition of Carbon Nanotubes.
abstract: Experiments probing the properties of individual carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and those measuring bulk composites show vastly different results. One major issue limiting the results is that the procedures required to separate and test CNTs introduce contamination that changes the properties of the CNT. These contamination residues often come from the resist used in lithographic processing and the surfactant used to suspend and deposit the CNTs, commonly sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Here we present ammonium laurate (AL), a surfactant that has previously not been used for this application, which differs from SDS only by substitution of ionic constituents but shows vastly cleaner depositions. In addition, we show that compared to SDS, AL-suspended CNTs have greater shelf stability and more selective dispersion. These results are verified using transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, ζ-potential measurements, and Raman and absorption optical spectroscopy. This surfactant is simple to prepare, and the nanotube solutions require minimal sonication and centrifugation in order to outperform SDS.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Material Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Hanna M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: †Department of Material Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meany
authors.affiliation: †Department of Material Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ticey
authors.affiliation: †Department of Material Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Chuan-Fu
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: †Department of Material Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: YuHuang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: †Department of Material Science and Engineering and ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cumings