Modifying the response of a polymer-based quartz crystal microbalance hydrocarbon sensor with functionalized carbon nanotubes

This report compares the performance of polymer and carbon nanotube-polymer composite membranes on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor for the detection of aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, p-xylene and naphthalene) in aqueous solutions. Several different polymers (polystyrene, polystyrene-co-butadiene, polyisobutylene and polybutadiene) and types of functionalized carbon nanotubes (multi-walled and single-walled carbon nanotubes) were investigated at varying carbon nanotube (CNT) loading levels and film thicknesses. In a majority of instances, the difference in response between membranes comprising pure polymer and membranes containing 10% (w/w) carbon nanotubes were not statistically significant. However, a notable exception is the decreasing sensitivity towards p-xylene with increasing carbon nanotube content in a polybutadiene film. This variation in sensitivity can be attributed to a change in the sorption mechanism from absorption into the polymer phase to adsorption onto the carbon nanotube sidewalls. With much thicker coatings of 10% (w/w) carbon nanotube in polybutadiene, the sensitivity towards toluene was higher compared to the pure polymer. The increased toluene sensitivity may be partially attributed to an increase in the sorption capacity of a carbon nanotube polymer composite film relative to its corresponding pure polymer film. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) measurements were performed to understand the mechanism of sorption and these studies showed that the addition of functionalized CNT to the polymer increases the absorption of certain types of hydrocarbons. This study demonstrates that carbon nanotubes can be incorporated into a polymer-coated QCM sensor and that composite films may be used to modify the QCM response and selectivity during the analysis of complex hydrocarbon mixtures.     

氧化铝模板上定向纳米碳管的快速生长及超声切短

在阳极氧化铝（AAO）模板上电沉积催化剂,快速生长了定向纳米碳管,纳米碳管以顶部生长模式生长.采用了超声的方法来切短露头于AAO模板的纳米碳管,增加纳米碳管膜的定向性.结果显示随着超声时间的增加,纳米碳管的定向性增加.位于纳米碳管膜顶部的催化剂在碳管切短的同时被去除,得到了顶部开口的纳米碳管.解释了纳米碳管被超声切短的机理.     

Preferential destruction of metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes by laser irradiation

Upon laser irradiation in air, metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in carbon nanotube thin film can be destroyed in preference to their semiconducting counterparts when the wavelength and power intensity of the irradiation are appropriate and the carbon nanotubes are not heavily bundled. Our method takes advantage of these two species' different rates of photolysis-assisted oxidation, creating the possibility of defining the semiconducting portions of carbon nanotube (CNT) networks using optical lithography, particularly when constructing all-CNT FETs (without metal electrodes) in the future.     

石墨烯/碳纳米管复合薄膜的制备进展

石墨烯/碳纳米管复合材料具有石墨烯和碳纳米管的共同特性,它弥补了石墨烯不连续和碳纳米管网存在间隙这两方面缺点。 本文探讨了石墨烯/碳纳米管复合薄膜的制备新进展,阐述了利用自组装合成、非原位合成以及非化学合成等方法制备厚度薄、强度高和比电容高等特点的石墨烯/碳纳米管复合薄膜的方法,对石墨烯/碳纳米管复合薄膜在传感器、锂电池和超级电容器等方面的应用前景进行了展望。     

具有平整表面的定向纳米碳管膜的制备

为了获得表面平整的定向纳米碳管，通过化学及物理的方法将纳米碳管膜进行反转，使其原来的AAO模板底面成为新的表面，用溶液逐步去除表面的铝和氧化铝后，获得了平整的定向纳米碳管膜表面，从而可将其作为工作面使用. 还比较了5％NaOH和6%H₃PO₄＋1.8%H₂CrO₄溶液去除氧化铝的效果.     

Insight into carbon nanotube effect on polymer molecular orientation: an infrared dichroism study

The effect of carbon nanotubes on polymer macromolecular orientation structure during stretching of syndiotactic polystyrene/carbon nanotube nanocomposite film was quantitatively studied for the first time by an infrared dichroism technique.     

Disposable Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Printed Film Electrochemical Determination of Acetaminophen,Dopamine, and Uric Acid

A novel printed film consisting of multiwalled carbon nanotubes was fabricated on a polyethylene terephthalate substrate by means of a mass flexographic printing process. Potential applications of this film for electrochemical biosensing were examined through the oxidation of acetaminophen, dopamine, and uric acid in phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). The results demonstrate that the printed carbon nanotube film exhibits an enhanced electrochemical response toward these molecules. Dopamine and uric acid did not interfere with each other and, thus, their simultaneous determination may be performed. The results suggest the mass flexographic printing technique has potential application for the construction of low-cost, precise, and disposable multiwalled carbon nanotube films.     

Analysis of stability of nanotube dispersions using surface tension isotherms

In this paper, we present the analyses of surface tension of surfactant-stabilized dispersions of carbon nanotubes. This method allows one to study interactions of carbon nanotubes with surfactants at different levels of nanotube loading when optical methods fall short in quantifying the level of nanotube separation. Sodium dodecyl sulfate was used as a stabilizing agent to uniformly disperse single-walled carbon nanotubes in an aqueous media. We show that surface tension is very sensitive to small changes of nanotube and surfactant concentrations. The experimental data suggest that, at moderate concentrations, surfactant displaces carbon nanotubes from the air-water interface and the nanotubes are mostly moved into the bulk of the liquid. By analyzing the surface tension as a function of surfactant concentration, we obtained the dependence of critical micelle concentration on nanotube loading. We then constructed the adsorption isotherm for dodecyl sulfate on carbon nanotubes and bundles of carbon nanotubes. The results of these experiments enabled us to extend the phase diagram of the produced dispersions to a broader range of surfactant and nanotube concentrations.     

Effect of chirality and length on the penetrability of single-walled carbon nanotubes into lipid bilayer cell membranes

The ability of carbon nanotubes to enter the cell membrane acting as drug-delivery vehicles has yielded a plethora of experimental investigations, mostly with inconclusive results because of the wide spectra of carbon nanotube structures. Because of the virtual impossibility of synthesizing CNTs with distinct chirality, we report a parametric study on the use of molecular dynamics to provide better insight into the effect of the carbon nanotube chirality and the aspect ratio on the interaction with a lipid bilayer membrane. The simulation results indicated that a single-walled carbon nanotube utilizes different time-evolving mechanisms to facilitate their internalization within the membrane. These mechanisms comprise both penetration and endocytosis. It was observed that carbon nanotubes with higher aspect ratios penetrate the membrane faster whereas shorter nanotubes undergo significant rotation during the final stages of endocytosis. Furthermore, nanotubes with lower chiral indices developed significant adhesion with the membrane. This adhesion is hypothesized to consume some of the carbon nanotube energy, thus resulting in longer times for the nanotube to translocate through the membrane.     

Enhanced field emission from multiwall carbon nanotube films by secondary growth

We have studied nickel, gold, and ferritin coatings on catalytically grown multiwall carbon nanotubes as well as the generation of secondary nanotubes by resubmitting the decorated nanotubes to the chemical vapor deposition process. Nickel layers sputtered on nanotubes show a stronger interaction with the nanotube walls than gold coatings. At ambient temperature this results in a metal film that is more homogeneous for Ni than for Au. Surface mass transport at elevated temperatures leads to a transformation of the coating to nanoscale clusters on the nanotube surface. The resulting Au clusters are spherelike with a very small contact area with the nanotube whereas the Ni clusters are stretched along the tube axis and have a large contact area. Secondary nanotubes were established by growing nanotubes directly on the walls of primary nanotubes. Thin Ni layers or ferritin served as catalysts. We compared the field emission properties of samples with and without secondary nanotubes. The presence of secondary nanotubes enhances the field emission substantially.     

柱状结构阵列碳纳米管膜的超疏水性研究

浸润性是固体表面的重要性质之一 .决定固体表面的浸润性的两个主要因素中 ,化学性质是内因 ,而几何结构形貌也是不可缺少的重要因素 .通过改变固体表面的粗糙度可以改变其浸润性 [1～ 5] .通常 ,人们用水接触角的大小来衡量固体表面水的浸润性 ,水与固体表面的接触角大于 1 5     

Catalytically active CNT–polymer-membrane assemblies: From synthesis to application

A new membrane electrode assembly set up for catalytic processes containing carbon nanotubes has been developed. The process includes the nanotube synthesis, sputter deposition of platinum as catalyst and the membrane casting. Aligned nanotube carpets were grown from toluene/ferrocene solutions and sputtered with platinum. Subsequently the assembly was investigated using cyclic voltammetry to confirm a sufficient catalyst activity. A procedure was developed to embed the carbon nanotubes doped with catalyst into SPEEK membranes, while preserving the aligned structure and keeping some surface area of the catalyst-doped nanotubes free of membrane material to allow for easy access to reactants. So far the best results were obtained using an aligned but somewhat loose nanotube structure and a deposition of 0.034 mg/cm² Pt, forming a combination of small catalyst clusters and a thin film. The assemblies are optimized in respect to application in fuel cells and functional membranes.     

Comparative study on different carbon nanotube materials in terms of transparent conductive coatings

We compared conductive transparent carbon nanotube coatings on glass substrates made of differently produced single-wall (SWNT), double-wall, and multiwall carbon nanotubes. The airbrushing approach and the vacuum filtration method were utilized for the fabrication of carbon nanotube films. The optoelectronic performance of the carbon nanotube film was found to strongly depend on many effects including the ratio of metallic-to-semiconducting tubes, dispersion, length, diameter, chirality, wall number, structural defects, and the properties of substrates. The electronic transportability and optical properties of the SWNT network can be significantly altered by chemical doping with thionyl chloride. Hall effect measurements revealed that all of these thin carbon nanotube films are of p-type probably due to the acid reflux-based purification and atmospheric impurities. The competition between variable-range hoping and fluctuation-assisted tunneling in the functionized carbon nanotube system could lead to a crossover behavior in the temperature dependence of the network resistance.     

碳纳米管阵列的气相沉积制备及场发射特性

运用酞菁铁热解法气相沉积制备了碳纳米管阵列.所得碳纳米管呈多壁结构.单根碳纳米管的平均直径约为25 nm，长度约4～5 μm，且具有很好的准直性.研究了碳纳米管阵列的平面场发射特性，相应的开启电压和阈值电压分别为1.28和2.3 V•μm－1，表明碳纳米管具有很强的场发射能力.利用场发射显微镜观察了碳纳米管阵列的场发射像，发现碳纳米管阵列的场发射主要集中在样品薄膜的边缘部位.这是由于碳纳米管密度过大而产生的屏蔽效应所致.     

Integrated single-walled carbon nanotube/microfluidic devices for the study of the sensing mechanism of nanotube sensors

A method to fabricate integrated single-walled carbon nanotube/microfluidic devices was developed. This simple process could be used to directly prepare nanotube thin film transistors within the microfluidic channel and to register SWNT devices with the microfludic channel without the need of an additional alignment step. The microfluidic device was designed to have several inlets that deliver multiple liquid flows to a single main channel. The location and width of each flow in the main channel could be controlled by the relative flow rates. This capability enabled us to study the effect of the location and the coverage area of the liquid flow that contained charged molecules on the conduction of the nanotube devices, providing important information on the sensing mechanism of carbon nanotube sensors. The results showed that in a sensor based on a nanotube thin film field effect transistor, the sensing signal came from target molecules absorbed on or around the nanotubes. The effect from adsorption on metal electrodes was weak.     

Elution behavior of shortened multiwalled carbon nanotubes in size exclusion chromatography

We present a rigorous investigation on elution behaviors of ultrasonically shortened multiwalled carbon nanotubes in size‐exclusion chromatography. The size separation of five carbon nanotube samples that underwent ultrasonic shortening for varying lengths of time revealed the existence of three kinds of carbon species: large nanotubes, small nanotubes, and amorphous carbon species. Separation of the three different carbon species was confirmed by SEM analyses on the fractionated eluates and also by light scattering/UV absorbance double detection. The chromatographic peak intensity ratio between the large and small nanotubes suggested an increased amount of small carbon nanotubes upon longer mechanical treatment time. The effect of the concentration of carbon nanotube dispersion on elution behavior was examined, and the elution volume of the shortened nanotubes was found to decrease upon dilution while that of the large nanotubes showed the opposite tendency. Unusual elution behaviors of the multiwalled carbon nanotubes were also observed by altering the flow rate, and these behaviors could be explained by the longer equilibration time taken for large nanotubes to access the pores of the packing materials and a possible morphology change of small carbon nanotubes.     

Thermogravimetric analysis of synthesis variation effects on CVD generated multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Changes in the thermogravimetrically determined oxidation behaviors of CVD-grown multiwalled carbon nanotubes with varying synthesis conditions are examined. Catalyst type and synthesis temperature are found to have a measurable impact upon nanotube stability, suggesting differing levels of crystalline perfection in the resulting nanotubes. The results provide evidence showing the catalytic effects of nanotube catalyst particles and their oxides upon the oxidation of nanotube carbon and graphite. The significance of thermogravimetric analysis as a characterization tool for carbon nanotubes is discussed.     

Ab initio simulations of doped single-walled carbon nanotube sensors

The interactions between oxygen and nitrogen atoms with single-walled carbon nanotubes were investigated for nanotubes with two different geometrical configurations using first-principle calculations within the framework of the density functional theory. We introduced a new type of toxic gas sensor that can detect the presence of H₂, Cl₂, CO, and NO molecules. We also demonstrated that the sensitivity of this device can be controlled by the concentration of the dopants on the surface of the nanotube. In addition, the transport properties of the doped nanotube were studied for different concentrations of oxygen or nitrogen atoms that were randomly distributed on the surface of the single-walled carbon nanotube. We observed that small amounts of dopants can modify the electronic and transport properties of the nanotube and can lend metallic properties to the nanotube. Band-gap narrowing occurs when the nanotube is doped with either oxygen or nitrogen atoms.     

扶手椅型单壁碳纳米管的结构和稳定性

用AM1和PM3两种方法对相同长度不同直径以及相同直径不同长度的扶手椅型单壁碳纳米管进行了优化, 并对AM1方法优化所得到的碳纳米管的几何结构进行了振动频率分析和p轨道轴矢量(POAV)分析, 发现了其热力学稳定性随碳纳米管直径和长度的变化规律, 讨论了各碳纳米管的张力、碳原子的杂化状态和共轭程度随碳纳米管直径的变化关系, 并与苯和C60做了比较。     

Dimensional changes as a function of charge injection in single-walled carbon nanotubes

Motivated by the central importance of charge-induced dimensional changes for carbon nanotube electromechanical actuators, we here predict changes in nanotube length and diameter as a function of charge injection for armchair and zigzag nanotubes having different diameters. Density functional theory with periodic boundary conditions is used, which we show provides results consistent with experimental observations for intercalated graphites. Strain-versus-charge relationships are predicted from dimensional changes calculated with a uniform background charge ("jellium") for representing the counterions. These jellium calculations are consistent with presented calculations that include specific counterions for intercalated graphite, showing that hybridization between the ions and the graphite sheets is unimportant. The charge-strain relationships calculated with the jellium approximation for graphite and isolated single-walled nanotubes are asymmetric with respect to the sign of charge transfer. The dependence of nanotube strain on charge approaches that for a graphite sheet for intermediate-sized metallic nanotubes and for larger diameter semiconducting nanotubes. However, the strain-charge curves strongly depend on nanotube type when the nanotube diameter is small. This reflects both the dependence of the frontier orbitals for the semiconducting nanotubes on the nanotube type and the pi-sigma mixing when the nanotube diameter is small.