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Additive-free carbon nanotube dispersions, pastes, gels, and doughs in cresols.

ABSTRACT: Cresols are a group of naturally occurring and massively produced methylphenols with broad use in the chemical industry. Here, we report that m-cresol and its liquid mixtures with other isomers are surprisingly good solvents for processing carbon nanotubes. They can disperse carbon nanotubes of various types at unprecedentedly high concentrations of tens of weight percent, without the need for any dispersing agent or additive. Cresols interact with carbon nanotubes by charge transfer through the phenolic hydroxyl proton and can be removed after processing by evaporation or washing, without altering the surface of carbon nanotubes. Cresol solvents render carbon nanotubes polymer-like rheological and viscoelastic properties and processability. As the concentration of nanotubes increases, a continuous transition of four states can be observed, including dilute dispersion, thick paste, free-standing gel, and eventually a kneadable, playdough-like material. As demonstrated with a few proofs of concept, cresols make powders of agglomerated carbon nanotubes immediately usable by a broad array of material-processing techniques to create desirable structures and form factors and make their polymer composites.

SUBMITTER: Chiou K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5984515 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Additive-free carbon nanotube dispersions, pastes, gels, and doughs in cresols.

Chiou Kevin K Byun Segi S Kim Jaemyung J Huang Jiaxing J

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20180514 22

Cresols are a group of naturally occurring and massively produced methylphenols with broad use in the chemical industry. Here, we report that <i>m</i>-cresol and its liquid mixtures with other isomers are surprisingly good solvents for processing carbon nanotubes. They can disperse carbon nanotubes of various types at unprecedentedly high concentrations of tens of weight percent, without the need for any dispersing agent or additive. Cresols interact with carbon nanotubes by charge transfer thro ...[more]

PMID: 29760075

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Project description:The aim of this work was to demonstrate an optimization methodology to reliably obtain stable macrodispersions (i.e., for ≥24 h) of carbon nanotubes in water using sonication. Response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to assess and optimize the sonication parameters for the process. The studied input parameters were (i) sonication time (duration), (ii) amplitude (of vibration), and (iii) pulse-on/off (duration) of the sonicator. The analyzed responses were mean diameter and size distribution of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) aggregates in water, which were measured by the dynamic light scattering technique. A semiempirical model was developed and statistically tested to estimate the magnitude of sonicator parameters required to obtain specified MWNT macrodispersions (i.e., aggregates' mean diameter and distribution) in water. The results showed that MWNT aggregates of 2 ± 0.5 μm can be obtained by optimizing sonicator parameters to a sonication time of 89 s, amplitude of 144 μm, and pulse-on/off cycle of 44/30 s. These process settings for 100 mg/L MWNTs in a 30 mL aliquot of deionized water would consume 863 J/mL of sonication energy. Contrary to the popular belief, "sonication time" and/or "sonication energy input" were not found to be proportional to the degree of dispersion of MWNTs in water. This might be the reason for the frequent disparity and nonreproducibility of sonication results reported in scientific literature, especially for dispersing nanomaterials in a number of different systems. The amplitude of vibration was noted to be the most sensitive parameter affecting MWNT aggregates' diameter and distribution in water. The characterization of MWNTs was performed using electron microscopy, surface area analyzer, thermogravimetric analyzer, and zeta potential analyzer. This study can be helpful in evaluating sonication dispersion of particulate matter in other incompressible fluids such as graphene dispersion in organic solvents.

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Additive-free carbon nanotube dispersions, pastes, gels, and doughs in cresols.

Publications

Additive-free carbon nanotube dispersions, pastes, gels, and doughs in cresols.

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