Cellulose derivatives as excellent dispersants for single-wall carbon nanotubes as demonstrated by absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy

Abstract

Sodium carboxymethylcellulose, an etherified derivative of cellulose, has been found to realize stable aqueous dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) that is twenty times more concentrated than when a surfactant is used under the same condition. The dispersion as well as thin films prepared from it exhibits well-resolved near-infrared photoluminescence peaks originating from band-gap transitions in semiconducting SWNTs, a sign of isolated individual tubes. Mechanical stretching of the film strongly aligns the tubes, as demonstrated by considerable dichroism in their absorption spectra. Possessing high optical quality and uniformity, these densely dispersed SWNT films are expected to serve as an important platform for SWNTs’ optical, electrical, and optoelectronic applications, especially because cellulose derivatives are cheap, mass-produced, safe, water-processable, and environmentally benign.

Carbon nanotubes for ultrafast fibre lasers

“…The OAS is a useful technique for CNT alignment studies. Works of [182] and [185] studied samples with high tube alignment due to film stretching. The intensity of absorption spectra was remarkably higher for the incident light polarised along the transition dipole moments along the tube axis, which overlap with stretching direction, compared to cross-polarised light.…”

Localized Nano-Environment for Integration and Optimum Functionalization of Chlorophyll-a Molecules

“…One such polymer is carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), which can be prepared in the form of an aqueous "gel-like" viscous solution with characteristics similar to a biological cell. CMC has been used in various practical fields [7,8,9]. In one such application [10], He Huang et al studied electrochemical properties of proteins or enzymes such as Heme protein at CMC modified electrodes.…”

Ionic liquids-based processing of electrically conducting chitin nanocomposite scaffolds for stem cell growth

“…The MWNT and carboxymethyl cellulose solution was sonicated for 30 minutes to achieve good dispersion of the MWNTs in water, as shown in Figure 1A. It has been shown that carboxymethyl cellulose is an excellent surfactant allowing uniform dispersion of MWNTs in aqueous medium [25][26][27][28] . Figure 1A shows a diagrammatic representation of the entire process for the preparation of membranes.…”