Purification and dispersibility of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in aqueous solution

Abstract

In this paper, the pristine multi-walled carbon nanotubes (P-MWCNTs) were purified either by the high temperature treatment (HT-MWCNTs) or by concentrated acid treatment (CA-MWCNTs). The HT-MWCNTs were prepared by heating at 500°C, while the CA-MWCNTs were treated by the mixture of concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids taken in a volume ratio of 3: 1. Ultrasonic processing and surfactants were utilized to achieve homogenous MWCNTs suspensions. The HT-MWCNTs and CA-MWCNTs were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Among these three MWCNTs, the prepared homogeneously dispersed MWCNTs suspensions were characterized by UV–Vis absorbency and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Finally, the dispersion mechanism was discussed. The results showed that both high temperature treatment and concentrated acid treatment can be used for purification of the P-MWCNTs, removing the amorphous carbon and other impurities. In these suspensions, the purified MWCNTs showed a better dispersibility in aqueous solution. The high temperature treatment was a kind of physical purification treatment method and it just burned the amorphous carbon away and strengthened the structure of MWCNTs, while the concentrated acid treatment was a chemical purification treatment method and this chemical treatment method grafted more effective groups to improve the dispersibility of MWCNTs.