Separation of single-walled carbon nanotubes and their applications on electronic devices

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) possess unique electronic properties which make them promising materials for applications in both nano-electronics and flexible devices. Currently, no effective methods could large-scale synthesize SWNTs with single conductive properties. To obtain SWNTs with single conductive properties, a variety of separation methods have been developed. Among them, liquid phase separation approaches hold the promise for large scale production of the pure semiconducting SWNTs and have attracted intense interests. This paper summarized the mechanism and features of several liquid phase separation methods, including electrophoresis, density gradient centrifugation, chemical functionalization, gel chromatography and extraction. We also demonstrated the applications of the purified SWNTs in electronic devices. Finally, we discussed the challenges and opportunities for the separation of SWNTs.