The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions

Tennison Yu; Jose Efrain Herrera

doi:doi:10.11648/j.css.20170203.12

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The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions

Tennison Yu, Jose Efrain Herrera

Published in Colloid and Surface Science (Volume 2, Issue 3)

Received: 9 June 2017 Accepted: 26 June 2017 Published: 27 July 2017

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Abstract

Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an extremely attractive material due to their unmatched electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, however; their hydrophobicity results in strong van der Waals interactions. This, combined with extremely high aspect ratios and flexibility, causes SWNTs to adhere strongly into tightly bundled ropes. In these bundles, SWNTs are not as useful as their linearized unbundled equivalents. In this contribution, the characterization of a system containing SWNTS, centrimonium bromide (CTAB) and the polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is reported. Results indicate that although individually CTAB and PVP are poor dispersants of SWNTs, together they show a synergic effect. Characterizations studies on the obtained SWNT dispersions suggest that the polymer hydrodynamic radius should have a minimum length that corresponds to intertube separation distance to achieve stable nanotube dispersions and that the effective polymer contact area with the suspended nanotube, rather than the polymer molecular weight regulates ability for SWNT dispersion. The results present a series of considerations that are relevant for the use of polymers as nanotube dispersing agents and an overall facile way of augmenting current dispersion techniques, potentially allowing for increased usage of applications of these versatile materials.

Published in	Colloid and Surface Science (Volume 2, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.css.20170203.12
Page(s)	96-106
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs), Dispersion, Surfactant, Polymers, Rheology, Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB), Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)

References

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Tennison Yu, Jose Efrain Herrera. (2017). The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions. Colloid and Surface Science, 2(3), 96-106. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12

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ACS Style

Tennison Yu; Jose Efrain Herrera. The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions. Colloid Surf. Sci. 2017, 2(3), 96-106. doi: 10.11648/j.css.20170203.12

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AMA Style

Tennison Yu, Jose Efrain Herrera. The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions. Colloid Surf Sci. 2017;2(3):96-106. doi: 10.11648/j.css.20170203.12

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@article{10.11648/j.css.20170203.12,
  author = {Tennison Yu and Jose Efrain Herrera},
  title = {The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions},
  journal = {Colloid and Surface Science},
  volume = {2},
  number = {3},
  pages = {96-106},
  doi = {10.11648/j.css.20170203.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.css.20170203.12},
  abstract = {Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an extremely attractive material due to their unmatched electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, however; their hydrophobicity results in strong van der Waals interactions. This, combined with extremely high aspect ratios and flexibility, causes SWNTs to adhere strongly into tightly bundled ropes. In these bundles, SWNTs are not as useful as their linearized unbundled equivalents. In this contribution, the characterization of a system containing SWNTS, centrimonium bromide (CTAB) and the polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is reported. Results indicate that although individually CTAB and PVP are poor dispersants of SWNTs, together they show a synergic effect. Characterizations studies on the obtained SWNT dispersions suggest that the polymer hydrodynamic radius should have a minimum length that corresponds to intertube separation distance to achieve stable nanotube dispersions and that the effective polymer contact area with the suspended nanotube, rather than the polymer molecular weight regulates ability for SWNT dispersion. The results present a series of considerations that are relevant for the use of polymers as nanotube dispersing agents and an overall facile way of augmenting current dispersion techniques, potentially allowing for increased usage of applications of these versatile materials.},
 year = {2017}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions
AU  - Tennison Yu
AU  - Jose Efrain Herrera
Y1  - 2017/07/27
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.css.20170203.12
T2  - Colloid and Surface Science
JF  - Colloid and Surface Science
JO  - Colloid and Surface Science
SP  - 96
EP  - 106
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-9236
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12
AB  - Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an extremely attractive material due to their unmatched electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, however; their hydrophobicity results in strong van der Waals interactions. This, combined with extremely high aspect ratios and flexibility, causes SWNTs to adhere strongly into tightly bundled ropes. In these bundles, SWNTs are not as useful as their linearized unbundled equivalents. In this contribution, the characterization of a system containing SWNTS, centrimonium bromide (CTAB) and the polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is reported. Results indicate that although individually CTAB and PVP are poor dispersants of SWNTs, together they show a synergic effect. Characterizations studies on the obtained SWNT dispersions suggest that the polymer hydrodynamic radius should have a minimum length that corresponds to intertube separation distance to achieve stable nanotube dispersions and that the effective polymer contact area with the suspended nanotube, rather than the polymer molecular weight regulates ability for SWNT dispersion. The results present a series of considerations that are relevant for the use of polymers as nanotube dispersing agents and an overall facile way of augmenting current dispersion techniques, potentially allowing for increased usage of applications of these versatile materials.
VL  - 2
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Tennison Yu

Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, Canada
Jose Efrain Herrera

Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, Canada

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APA Style

Tennison Yu, Jose Efrain Herrera. (2017). The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions. Colloid and Surface Science, 2(3), 96-106. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12

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ACS Style

Tennison Yu; Jose Efrain Herrera. The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions. Colloid Surf. Sci. 2017, 2(3), 96-106. doi: 10.11648/j.css.20170203.12

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AMA Style

Tennison Yu, Jose Efrain Herrera. The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions. Colloid Surf Sci. 2017;2(3):96-106. doi: 10.11648/j.css.20170203.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.css.20170203.12,
  author = {Tennison Yu and Jose Efrain Herrera},
  title = {The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions},
  journal = {Colloid and Surface Science},
  volume = {2},
  number = {3},
  pages = {96-106},
  doi = {10.11648/j.css.20170203.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.css.20170203.12},
  abstract = {Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an extremely attractive material due to their unmatched electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, however; their hydrophobicity results in strong van der Waals interactions. This, combined with extremely high aspect ratios and flexibility, causes SWNTs to adhere strongly into tightly bundled ropes. In these bundles, SWNTs are not as useful as their linearized unbundled equivalents. In this contribution, the characterization of a system containing SWNTS, centrimonium bromide (CTAB) and the polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is reported. Results indicate that although individually CTAB and PVP are poor dispersants of SWNTs, together they show a synergic effect. Characterizations studies on the obtained SWNT dispersions suggest that the polymer hydrodynamic radius should have a minimum length that corresponds to intertube separation distance to achieve stable nanotube dispersions and that the effective polymer contact area with the suspended nanotube, rather than the polymer molecular weight regulates ability for SWNT dispersion. The results present a series of considerations that are relevant for the use of polymers as nanotube dispersing agents and an overall facile way of augmenting current dispersion techniques, potentially allowing for increased usage of applications of these versatile materials.},
 year = {2017}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Mechanism of Surfactant Assisted Dispersion of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Polyvinylpyrrolidone Solutions
AU  - Tennison Yu
AU  - Jose Efrain Herrera
Y1  - 2017/07/27
PY  - 2017
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.css.20170203.12
T2  - Colloid and Surface Science
JF  - Colloid and Surface Science
JO  - Colloid and Surface Science
SP  - 96
EP  - 106
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2578-9236
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.css.20170203.12
AB  - Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are an extremely attractive material due to their unmatched electronic, mechanical, and thermal properties, however; their hydrophobicity results in strong van der Waals interactions. This, combined with extremely high aspect ratios and flexibility, causes SWNTs to adhere strongly into tightly bundled ropes. In these bundles, SWNTs are not as useful as their linearized unbundled equivalents. In this contribution, the characterization of a system containing SWNTS, centrimonium bromide (CTAB) and the polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is reported. Results indicate that although individually CTAB and PVP are poor dispersants of SWNTs, together they show a synergic effect. Characterizations studies on the obtained SWNT dispersions suggest that the polymer hydrodynamic radius should have a minimum length that corresponds to intertube separation distance to achieve stable nanotube dispersions and that the effective polymer contact area with the suspended nanotube, rather than the polymer molecular weight regulates ability for SWNT dispersion. The results present a series of considerations that are relevant for the use of polymers as nanotube dispersing agents and an overall facile way of augmenting current dispersion techniques, potentially allowing for increased usage of applications of these versatile materials.
VL  - 2
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download