Self-assembled linear bundles of single wall carbon nanotubes and their alignment and deposition as a film in a dc field

Prashant V Kamat; K George Thomas; Said Barazzouk; G Girishkumar; K Vinodgopal; Dan Meisel

doi:10.1021/ja0479888

Self-assembled linear bundles of single wall carbon nanotubes and their alignment and deposition as a film in a dc field

J Am Chem Soc. 2004 Sep 1;126(34):10757-62. doi: 10.1021/ja0479888.

Authors

Prashant V Kamat¹, K George Thomas, Said Barazzouk, G Girishkumar, K Vinodgopal, Dan Meisel

Affiliation

¹ Radiation Laboratory, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA. pkamat@nd.edu

PMID: 15327336
DOI: 10.1021/ja0479888

Abstract

A one-step process of solubilization of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) in an organic solvent has enabled us to polarize them asymmetrically in a dc electric field. Quaternary ammonium ion-capped SWCNTs readily suspend in organic solvents; under the influence of a dc electric field, they assemble as stretched bundles anchored on the positive electrode. At low dc applied field (approximately 40 V), all of the SWCNTs from the suspension are deposited on the electrode, thus providing a simple methodology to design robust SWCNT films. At higher applied voltages (>100 V), the SWCNT bundles stretch out into the solution and orient themselves perpendicular to the electrode surface. The alignment of these bundles is responsive to the ON-OFF cycles of the applied electric field. The possibility of modulating the alignment of SWCNT in an electric field opens new ways to achieve electrical contacts in nano- to micro-devices.