Recent developments concerning the dispersion of carbon nanotubes in surfactant/polymer systems by MD simulation

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) hold the promise of delivering exceptional mechanical properties and multifunctional characteristics due to their unique physiochemical properties and prospective applications in various nanotechnologies. However, current techniques of CNTs fabrication cannot produce homogenous CNTs, and this prevents the widespread use of CNTs. Ever-increasing interest in applying CNTs in many different fields has led to continued efforts to develop dispersion and functionalization techniques. Techniques for separating bundles of CNTs into homogeneous dispersion are still under development. The preparation of effective dispersions of CNTs presents a major impediment to the extension and utilization of CNTs. CNTs intrinsically tend to bundle and/or aggregate. The prevention of such behavior has been explored by testing various techniques to improve the dispersibility of CNTs in a variety of solvents. There are mainly two approaches to obtain a good quality dispersion; chemical functionalization and physical interactions. The chemical functionalization technique has been found effective, but deteriorates the intrinsic properties of CNTs through the introduction of defects in the wall. Physical blending approaches with the ultrasound and high speed shearing have been proven capable of debundling CNTs and stabilizing individual CNTs while maintaining their integrity and intrinsic properties. Contemporary methods for dispersion of CNTs in aqueous media are discussed and most attention is paid to molecular dynamics simulation techniques and other physical techniques, as well as to the use of various surfactants and polymers.

Review on carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube bundles for gas/ion separation and water purification studied by molecular dynamics simulation

“…Desalination is one of the most promising approaches to freshwater recycle (Amokrane et al 2015;Cohen-Tanugi et al 2014;Ghaffour et al 2013;Porada et al 2013;Wang and Karnik 2012). As nanotubes are innately insoluble in water (Fatemi and Foroutan 2015b), aqueous dispersion requires modification of the nanotube surface. Dispersion via physical approaches has the advantage of preserving the nanotube conjugated system and hence their electrical properties, and nanotubes have been successfully dispersed in water with the aid of a vast number of different dispersive agents Foroutan 2014, 2015c).…”

Methods for dispersing carbon nanotubes for nanotechnology applications: liquid nanocrystals, suspensions, polyelectrolytes, colloids and organization control

“…Since then, a multitude of surfactants have been used to various outcomes and to enable a wide range of applications. This has, however, already be the subject on recent reviews [88][89][90][91], we are therefore not developing further this approach beyond a few highlights presented in the following sections.…”

A mini-review on dispersion and functionalization of boron nitride nanotubes

“…Although this process could be carried out by applying both covalent and non-covalent functionalization, the second one seems to be more suitable because it maintains the intrinsic properties of the BNNTs [41,42]. In addition to the above-mentioned advances in the field of dispersion and functionalization of BNNT, several new approaches could be suggested to extend the possibility of different technical applications; however, there are other significant developed covalent and non-covalent approaches [41,43]. In this regard, we will discuss the recent developments concerning the dispersion and functionalization of BNNTs obtained by experimenting in the ""Experimental evidence", and to get more insights on the details, theoretical studies are presented in the "Theoretical investigations".…”