Dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes with "Green" Detergents.

Kazuo Umemura,Hiroaki Komatsu,Takashi Ikuno,Eko Siswoyo,Ryo Hamano

doi:10.3390/molecules26102908

Kazuo Umemura, Hiroaki Komatsu + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26102908

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Abstract

Solubilization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is a fundamental technique for the use of CNTs and their conjugates as nanodevices and nanobiodevices. In this work, we demonstrate the preparation of CNT suspensions with “green” detergents made from coconuts and bamboo as fundamental research in CNT nanotechnology. Single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) with a few carboxylic acid groups (3–5%) and pristine multi-walled CNTs (MWNTs) were mixed in each detergent solution and sonicated with a bath-type sonicator. The prepared suspensions were characterized using absorbance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Among the eight combinations of CNTs and detergents (two types of CNTs and four detergents, including sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the standard), SWNTs/MWNTs were well dispersed in all combinations except the combination of the MWNTs and the bamboo detergent. The stability of the suspensions prepared with coconut detergents was better than that prepared with SDS. Because the efficiency of the bamboo detergents against the MWNTs differed significantly from that against the SWNTs, the natural detergent might be useful for separating CNTs. Our results revealed that the use of the “green” detergents had the advantage of dispersing CNTs as well as SDS.

Highlights

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising nanomaterials because of their extraordinary mechanical, electrical, and optical properties [1–4]
We examined three commercially available natural detergents made from coconuts and bamboo for dispersing single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) and multi-walled CNTs (MWNTs) in order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the use of “green molecules” for carbon nanotechnology
It is cheaper than Single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) and functionalized MWNTs; it can be widely applied in industrial applications

Summary

Introduction

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising nanomaterials because of their extraordinary mechanical, electrical, and optical properties [1–4]. For biological applications, the preparation of aqueous dispersions of CNTs has been an important research topic. We examined three commercially available natural detergents made from coconuts and bamboo for dispersing single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) and multi-walled CNTs (MWNTs) in order to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the use of “green molecules” for carbon nanotechnology. Considering the use of CNT suspensions for general applications, we demonstrated treatments with a bath-type sonicator rather than a probe-type sonicator.

Results

Conclusion