Solute Solvent Interactions of Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone Wrapped Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (PVP-SWNTs) in Water by Viscometric Studies

Abstract

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991 by Iijima 1 , a lot of attentions have been imparted upon them 2-3 , owing to their unique characters. Carbon nanotubes possess outstanding mechanical, electrical and thermal properties. As a result of which they display excellent characteristics for wide range of applications, such as molecular wires, hydrogen storage materials, field emission displays, sensors and high strength fibers 4-5 . ABSTRACTPolymer wrapped single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been synthesized to improve the solubility of SWNTs in water. The present study deals with experiments so as to highlight the solute solvent interactions during the solubilisation of polyvinyl pyrrolidone wrapped single walled carbon nanotubes (PVP-SWNTs) in water by viscometric methods. Viscosity values of both PVP and PVP-SWNTs have been determined in water with different concentrations (0.05-1.2 mg/ml) at temperatures 298.15, 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15K. The viscosity values have been evaluated in terms of A F (Falken-Hagen coefficient), B J (Jones-Dole coefficient), dB/dt,Δµ 2°( contribution per mole of the solute to free), Δµ 1° (corresponding value for pure solvent) and η 0 Λ 0 (Walden product). The estimated parameters were discussed in terms of solute solvent interactions.