Dispersion and functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTS) for nanocomposite applications

¹ Department of Materials Science & Engineering, CBAS, University of Ghana, Ghana
² Institut des Materiaux Jean Rouxel, CNRS-Université de Nantes, France
³ Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, CBAS, University of Ghana, Ghana
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aalborg University, Denmark

^a Corresponding author: ayaya@ug.edu.gh

Received: 24 August 2016
Accepted: 15 February 2017

Abstract

We present an easy and reliable method of functionalizing and dispersing single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) for nanocomposite production. This was achieved via a mixture of the concentrated acids HNO₃/H₂SO₄, followed by sonication in appropriate solvents (Ethanol, Acetone and/or Dimethylformamide). SWCNTs were functionalized to attach carboxylic moieties on the walls of the nanotubes, which aided in the production of SWCNTs suspensions in acetone, ethanol and dimethylformamide in which nanotubes remained dispersed for a period of two (2) weeks. Energy dispersion analysis (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the functionalized SWCNTs.