Abstract
Natural polyelectrolytes (NPs), including sodium lignosulfonate, humic acid and soforth, are reported for the first time to solubilize single-walled carbon nanotubes(SWNTs) in water through a noncovalent interaction. A variety of methods, includingtransmission electron microscopy (TEM), visible–near-infrared (vis–NIR) spectra,Raman spectra and zeta potential measurements, were used to characterize theNP-dispersed SWNT solutions. It is found that the SWNTs can be exfoliatedinto thin bundles or individual tubes, even at NP concentrations as low as0.15 mg ml−1. Their high performance is attributed to the abundance of aromatic groups and ionizedgroups in the NP molecules. This method of solubilization opens the way for exploiting newnatural materials as SWNT solubilizers and may find applications in nanocomposites,self-assembly, and so forth.
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