Length sorting of single-walled carbon nanotubes using ultracentrifugation

Abstract

The separation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) and the sorting of its length via ultracentrifugation in high density medium, Iodixanol, is presented in this report. Significant quantities and data are extracted to analyse the dependency of the length of the nanotubes against the UV-Vis-IR spectroscopy and thus realizing that it has good optical properties for longer length. In addition, with the aid of the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to measure the SWCNTs’ lengths, the report will attempt to establish a relationship between the measured lengths with the Intensity absorbance from the UV-Vis-IR spectroscopy. This is to relate to the problem of the time consuming method of having AFM to measure SWCNT lengths.

Various carbon nanotubes were being explored and an observable trend has been produced. However, in this report, the SWCNT diameter dependency for the time taken for optimum separation is neglected. An attempt to display a relationship has been in vain as there is no observable trend. Error analysis and recommendations have been inputted for future works.