Improved Bath Sonication Method for Dispersion of Individual Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Using New Triphenylene-Based Surfactant

Abstract

We developed a new surfactant for the dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The surfactant is an amphiphilic compound with a π-conjugative triphenylene skeleton. SWNTs were individually dispersed by the aid of the surfactant using a common low-power bath sonicator. Well-dispersed HiPco SWNTs in D2O solution were obtained using the surfactant by the repetition of surfactant addition and sonication, followed by overnight sonication. Spectroscopic measurements of the dispersed solution revealed that the SWNTs were dispersed sufficiently to show clear photoluminescence (PL) without ultracentrifugation. Moreover, this method was applied to the dispersion of SWNTs using a typical surfactant, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfate (SDBS). The observed clear PL from SWNTs in the solution obtained without ultracentrifugation suggested that gradual surfactant addition and sonication, followed by overnight sonication, strongly contributed to the efficient dispersion of SWNTs in water.