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Title: Self–Sorting of 10–µm–Long Single–Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are a class of 1D nanomaterials that exhibit extraordinary electrical and optical properties. However, many of the fundamental studies and practical applications are stymied by sample polydispersity. SWCNTs are synthesized in bulk with broad structural (chirality) and geometrical (length and diameter) distributions; problematically, all known post-synthetic sorting methods rely on ultrasonication, which cuts SWCNTs into short segments (typically <1 μm). Here it is demonstrated that ultralong (>10 μm) SWCNTs can be efficiently separated from the shorter ones through a solution-phase “self-sorting.” It is shown that thin film transistors fabricated from long semiconducting SWCNTs exhibit a carrier mobility as high as ≈90 cm2 V–1 s–1, which is ≈10 times higher than the shorter counterparts and well exceeding other known materials such as organic semiconducting polymers (<1 cm2 V–1 s–1), amorphous silicon (≈1 cm2 V–1 s–1), and nanocrystalline silicon (≈50 cm2 V–1 s–1). Mechanistic studies suggest that this self-sorting relies on the equilibrium between isotropic and liquid crystalline SWCNT phases, which is driven by the solution phase behavior above the cloud point of the isotropic phase, and inversely scales with the SWCNT length. Furthermore, this length-dependent self-sorting technique opens a path to attain the long- sought ultralong, electronicallymore » pure carbon nanotube materials through scalable solution processing.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
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  1. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
  2. Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). The Center for Enhanced Nanofluidic Transport (CENT); Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1638469
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1528651
Grant/Contract Number:  
EE0007865; SC0019112
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Advanced Materials
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 31; Journal Issue: 33; Journal ID: ISSN 0935-9648
Publisher:
Wiley
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; Carrier mobility; nanomaterials processing; phase behavior; superacid-surfactant exchange; thin-film transistor; ultralong carbon nanotubes

Citation Formats

Wang, Peng, Barnes, Benjamin, Wu, Xiaojian, Qu, Haoran, Zhang, Chiyu, Shi, Yang, Headrick, Robert J., Pasquali, Matteo, and Wang, YuHuang. Self–Sorting of 10–µm–Long Single–Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1002/adma.201901641.
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Wang, Peng, Barnes, Benjamin, Wu, Xiaojian, Qu, Haoran, Zhang, Chiyu, Shi, Yang, Headrick, Robert J., Pasquali, Matteo, & Wang, YuHuang. Self–Sorting of 10–µm–Long Single–Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201901641
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Wang, Peng, Barnes, Benjamin, Wu, Xiaojian, Qu, Haoran, Zhang, Chiyu, Shi, Yang, Headrick, Robert J., Pasquali, Matteo, and Wang, YuHuang. Thu . "Self–Sorting of 10–µm–Long Single–Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201901641. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1638469.
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@article{osti_1638469,
title = {Self–Sorting of 10–µm–Long Single–Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Aqueous Solution},
author = {Wang, Peng and Barnes, Benjamin and Wu, Xiaojian and Qu, Haoran and Zhang, Chiyu and Shi, Yang and Headrick, Robert J. and Pasquali, Matteo and Wang, YuHuang},
abstractNote = {Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are a class of 1D nanomaterials that exhibit extraordinary electrical and optical properties. However, many of the fundamental studies and practical applications are stymied by sample polydispersity. SWCNTs are synthesized in bulk with broad structural (chirality) and geometrical (length and diameter) distributions; problematically, all known post-synthetic sorting methods rely on ultrasonication, which cuts SWCNTs into short segments (typically <1 μm). Here it is demonstrated that ultralong (>10 μm) SWCNTs can be efficiently separated from the shorter ones through a solution-phase “self-sorting.” It is shown that thin film transistors fabricated from long semiconducting SWCNTs exhibit a carrier mobility as high as ≈90 cm2 V–1 s–1, which is ≈10 times higher than the shorter counterparts and well exceeding other known materials such as organic semiconducting polymers (<1 cm2 V–1 s–1), amorphous silicon (≈1 cm2 V–1 s–1), and nanocrystalline silicon (≈50 cm2 V–1 s–1). Mechanistic studies suggest that this self-sorting relies on the equilibrium between isotropic and liquid crystalline SWCNT phases, which is driven by the solution phase behavior above the cloud point of the isotropic phase, and inversely scales with the SWCNT length. Furthermore, this length-dependent self-sorting technique opens a path to attain the long- sought ultralong, electronically pure carbon nanotube materials through scalable solution processing.},
doi = {10.1002/adma.201901641},
journal = {Advanced Materials},
number = 33,
volume = 31,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jun 20 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Thu Jun 20 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
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Journal Article:
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Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201901641
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Cited by: 15 works
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Schematic of the self-sorting process of ultralong SWCNTs. a) Long SWCNTs dissolved in CSA tend to align together to minimize the excluded volume (V) and form a nematic phase. The excluded volume scales with dL2, where d and L are the SWCNT diameter and length respectively (V ∝more » dL2). Short SWCNTs in superacid tend to stay in an isotropic phase due to their limited interactions. b) The SWCNTs are dissolved in superacid and subsequently neutralized with NaOH and DOC to produce short, individual nanotubes that are stabilized by surfactant in the aqueous solution. Meanwhile, long carbon nanotubes bundle and form precipitates, which can be separated from the dispersion by centrifugation.« less
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