Al Shboul Ahmad, Siaj Mohamed, Claverie Jerome
Department of Electrical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure ÉTS, 1100 Notre-Dame St. W, Montreal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada.
Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Engineering, University of Sherbrooke, 2500, Boul. de l'Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada.
Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024 Dec 27;15(1):23. doi: 10.3390/nano15010023.
This study delves into the distinctive selective property exhibited by a non-conjugated cholesterol-based polymer, poly(CEM--EHA), in sorting semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) within isooctane. Comprised of 11 repeating units of cholesteryloxycarbonyl-2-hydroxy methacrylate (CEM) and 7 repeating units of 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA), this non-conjugated polymer demonstrates robust supramolecular interactions across the sp surface structure of carbon nanotubes and graphene. When coupled with the Double Liquid-Phase Extraction (DLPE) technology, the polymer effectively segregates s-SWCNTs into the isooctane phase (nonpolar) while excluding metallic SWCNTs (m-SWCNTs) in the water phase (polar). DLPE proves particularly efficient in partitioning larger-diameter s-SWCNTs (0.85-1.0 nm) compared to those dispersed directly in isooctane by poly(CEM--EHA) using direct liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) techniques for diameters ranging from 0.75 to 0.95 nm. The DLPE method, bolstered by poly(CEM--EHA), successfully eliminates impurities from s-SWCNT extraction, including residual metallic catalysts and carbonaceous substances, which constitute up to 20% of raw HiPCO SWCNTs. DLPE emerges as a scalable and straightforward approach for selectively extracting s-SWCNTs in nonpolar, low-boiling-point solvents like alkanes. These dispersions hold promise for fabricating fast-drying s-SWCNT inks, which are ideal for printed and flexible thin-film transistors.
本研究深入探讨了一种非共轭胆固醇基聚合物聚（CEM-EHA）在异辛烷中对半导体单壁碳纳米管（s-SWCNTs）的独特选择性。这种非共轭聚合物由11个胆固醇氧基羰基-2-羟基甲基丙烯酸酯（CEM）重复单元和7个丙烯酸2-乙基己酯（EHA）重复单元组成，在碳纳米管和石墨烯的sp表面结构上表现出强大的超分子相互作用。当与双液相萃取（DLPE）技术结合使用时，该聚合物能有效地将s-SWCNTs分离到异辛烷相（非极性）中，同时将金属单壁碳纳米管（m-SWCNTs）排除在水相（极性）中。与通过直接液相剥离（LPE）技术将直径为0.75至0.95nm的s-SWCNTs直接分散在异辛烷中的情况相比，DLPE在分离较大直径（0.85-1.0nm）的s-SWCNTs方面特别有效。由聚（CEM-EHA）支持的DLPE方法成功地从s-SWCNT萃取物中去除了杂质，包括残留的金属催化剂和含碳物质，这些杂质在原始HiPCO单壁碳纳米管中占比高达20%。DLPE成为一种可扩展且简单的方法，用于在非极性、低沸点溶剂（如烷烃）中选择性萃取s-SWCNTs。这些分散体有望用于制造快干的s-SWCNT油墨，这对于印刷和柔性薄膜晶体管来说是理想的。
