Single-walled carbon nanotube dispersion with electrostatically tethered inorganic nanoplatelets

We report an exceptionally effective method for physically pulling nanotube bundles apart by utilizing electrostatically tethered nanoplatelets to gather and concentrate sonication energy at the surface of nanotube aggregates. Following dispersion, the nanoplatelets can be separated from the nanotubes by tuning the ionic strength of the medium. This colloidal approach obviates the need to drastically modify nanotube surface chemistry to achieve full exfoliation, thereby preserving their intrinsic properties.

Single-walled carbon nanotube dispersion with electrostatically tethered inorganic nanoplatelets Conference Paper