Water-Soluble Multi-Walled Nanotube and its Film Characteristics

Covalent modification of multi-walled-nanotube (MWNT) surface enhanced solubility in water yields a thin transparent shining dark-colored film of soluble MWNT (s-MWNT) with a conductivity of 1.25 S/cm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy were used for the film characterization. The result shows that enhanced interactions between s-MWNT and water and between s-MWNTs play an important role in the increase of the solubility of the nanotubes in water and in the formation of uniform thin films.