Resonance energy transfer (RET)-Induced intermolecular pairing force: a tunable weak interaction and its application in SWNT separation

This paper explores evidence of an optically mediated interaction that is active in the separation mechanism of certain selective agents through consideration of the contrasting selective behaviors of two conjugated polymers with distinct optical properties. The involvement of a RET-induced intermolecular pairing force is implied by the different illumination response behaviors. The magnitude of this interaction scales with the external stimulus parameter, the illumination irradiance (I), and thus is tunable. This suggests a facile technique to modify the selectivity of polymers toward specific SWNT species by altering the polymer structure to adjust the corresponding intermolecular interaction. This is the first experimental verification and application of a RET-induced intermolecular pairing force to SWNT separation. With this kind of interaction taken into account, reasonable interpretation of some conflicting data, especially PLE maps, can be easily made. The above conclusion can be applied to other substances as long as they are electrically neutral and there is photon-induced RET between them. The significant magnitude of this interaction makes direct manipulation of molecules/particles possible and is expected to have applications in molecular engineering.