Carbon nanotubes: are they dispersed or dissolved in liquids?
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Carbon nanotubes: are they dispersed or dissolved in liquids? Kurt Ernst Geckeler1,2*, Thathan Premkumar2 Abstract Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) constitute a novel class of nanomaterials with remarkable applications in diverse domains. However, the main intrincsic problem of CNTs is their insolubility or very poor solubility in most of the common solvents. The basic key question here is: are carbon nanotubes dissolved or dispersed in liquids, specifically in water? When analyzing the scientific research articles published in various leading journals, we found that many researchers confused between “dispersion” and “solubilization” and use the terms interchangeably, particularly when stating the interaction of CNTs with liquids. In this article, we address this fundamental issue to give basic insight specifically to the researchers who are working with CNTs as well asgenerally to scientists who deal with nano-related research domains. Among the various nanomaterials, CNTs gained widespread attention owing to their exceptional properties, good chemical stability, and large surface area [1,2]. CNTs are extremely thin tubes and feature an extremely enviable combination of mechanical, thermal, electrical, and optical properties. Their size, shape, and properties construct them as prime contenders for exploiting the growth of a potentially revolutionary material for diverse applications. Nevertheless, the main intrinsic drawback of CNTs is their insolubility or extremely poor solubility in most of the common solvents due to their hydrophobicity, thus creating it tricky to explore and understand the chemistry of such material at the molecular level and device applications. Though diverse approaches [3] have been introduced to improve the dispersion of CNTs in different solvents including water, challenges still remain in developing simple, green, facile, and effective strategies for a large-scale production of CNT dispersions. To this end, in many studies a wide range of agents have been used. To give a few examples: solvents [4], biopolymers [5], and surfactants [6]. Meanwhile, when analyzing the scientific research articles published in various leading journals, regarding the dispersion of CNTs, it is really puzzling owing to the usage of different terminologies * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Nanobio Materials and Electronics, World-Class University (WCU), 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, South Korea Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
with respect to the dispersion of CNTs. Most of the studies indicated “dispersion"; however, considerable quantities of articles were published with the term “solubilization”, which can be evidently seen from the literature analysis [7]. Hence, many researchers confound “dispersion” and “solubilization” and use the terms interchangeably, especially when describing the interaction of CNTs with solvents. Many scientists have mentioned that CNTs can be “solubilized in water or organic solvents” by means of pol
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