Carbon nanotubes are generally insoluble in any solvents, resulting in their poor processability for many proposed potential applications. Several strategies have been developed to introduce carbon nanotubes into solvent systems, including dispersion and suspension under special experimental conditions and the chemical modification and functionalization. The dispersion and solubilization make it possible to characterize and study the carbon nanotubes by using solution-based techniques, to realize some of their unique properties, and to carry out further chemical transformations. In this presentation, recent results obtained in our laboratory concerning the dispersion and solubilization of carbon nanotubes will be highlighted. The fabrication of high-quality polymeric/carbon nanocomposites, especially those based on separated semiconducting and metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes, will be reported and discussed.
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Back to The 36th ACS Great Lakes Regional Meeting 2004 (October 17-20, 2004)