Cross-linking gelation of isomaltodextrin for the chromatographic separation of semiconducting carbon nanotubes

Abstract

The gel column chromatographic separation technique is one of the most rapid and reliable methods to prepare high-purity semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). However, the use of the expensive dextran-based gels limits the utility and scalability of this technique. Herein, we report the cross-linking gelation of a cost-efficient polysaccharide isomaltodextrin (IMD) for the high-purity separation of s-SWCNTs by column chromatography. The cross-linking reaction with epichlorohydrin under precisely controlled basic conditions gave the sub-micrometer porous IMD gels, which was important for achieving gel chromatographic SWCNT separation. Furthermore, the thin-film transistors prepared from the separated s-SWCNTs exhibited excellent on/off ratios.