The Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative: A New Model for Supporting Collaborative Research at Small Institutions on a National Scale

The Primarily Undergraduate Nanomaterials Cooperative (PUNC) is an organization for research-active faculty studying nanomaterials at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), where undergraduate teaching and research go hand-in-hand. In this perspective, we outline the differences in maintaining an active research group at a PUI compared to an R1 institution. We also discuss the work of PUNC, which focuses on community building, instrument sharing, and facilitating new collaborations. Currently consisting of 37 members from across the United States, PUNC has created an online community consisting of its Web site (nanocooperative.org), a weekly online summer group meeting program for faculty and students, and a Discord server for informal conversations. Additionally, in-person symposia at ACS conferences and PUNC-specific conferences are planned for the future. It is our hope that in the years to come PUNC will be seen as a model organization for community building and research support at primarily undergraduate institutions

Interactive Forces between Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Suspended Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Agarose Gels

Selective adsorption onto agarose gels has become a powerful method to separate single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). A better understanding of the nature of the interactive forces and specific sites responsible for adsorption should lead to significant improvements in the selectivity and yield of these separations. A combination of nonequilibrium and equilibrium studies are conducted to explore the potential role that van der Waals, ionic, hydrophobic, π–π, and ion–dipole interactions have on the selective adsorption between agarose and SWCNTs suspended with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The results demonstrate that any modification to the agarose gel surface and, consequently, the permanent dipole moments of agarose drastically reduces the retention of SWCNTs. Because these permanent dipoles are critical to retention and the fact that SDS–SWCNTs function as macro-ions, it is proposed that ion–dipole forces are the primary interaction responsible for adsorption. The selectivity of adsorption may be attributed to variations in polarizability between nanotube types, which create differences in both the structure and mobility of surfactant. These differences affect the enthalpy and entropy of adsorption, and both play an integral part in the selectivity of adsorption. The overall adsorption process shows a complex behavior that is not well represented by the Langmuir model; therefore, calorimetric data should be used to extract thermodynamic information

Unique Toxicological Behavior from Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Separated via Selective Adsorption on Hydrogels

Over the past decade, extensive research has been completed on the potential threats of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to living organisms upon release to aquatic systems. However, these studies have focused primarily on the link between adverse biological effects in exposed test organisms on the length, diameter, and metallic impurity content of SWCNTs. In contrast, few studies have focused on the bioeffects of the different SWCNTs in the as-produced mixture, which contain both metallic (m-SWCNT) and semiconducting (s-SWCNT) species. Using selective adsorption onto hydrogels, high purity m-SWCNT and s-SWCNT fractions were produced and their biological impacts determined in dose–response studies with <i>Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata</i> as test organism. The results show significant differences in the biological responses of <i>P. subcapitata</i> exposed to high purity m- and s-SWCNT fractions. Contrary to the biological response observed using SWCNTs separated by density gradient ultracentrifugation, it is found that the high-pressure CO conversion (HiPco) s-SWCNT fraction separated by selective adsorption causes increased biological impact. These findings suggest that s-SWCNTs are the primary factor driving the adverse biological responses observed from <i>P. subcapitata</i> cells exposed to our as-produced suspensions. Finally, the toxicity of the s-SWCNT fraction is mitigated by increasing the concentration of biocompatible surfactant in the suspensions, likely altering the nature of surfactant coverage along SWCNT sidewalls, thereby reducing potential physical interaction with algal cells. These findings highlight the need to couple sample processing and toxicity response studies

Strongly Bound Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Surrounding Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

NMR techniques have been widely used to infer molecular structure, including surfactant aggregation. A combination of optical spectroscopy, proton NMR spectroscopy, and pulsed field gradient NMR (PFG NMR) is used to study the adsorption number for sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Distinct transitions in the NMR chemical shift of SDS are observed in the presence of SWCNTs. These transitions demonstrate that micelle formation is delayed by SWCNTs due to the adsorption of SDS on the nanotube surface. Once the nanotube surface is saturated, the free SDS concentration increases until micelle formation is observed. Therefore, the adsorption number of SDS on SWCNTs can be determined by the changes to the apparent critical micelle concentration (CMC). PFG NMR found that SDS remains strongly bound onto the nanotube. Quantitative analysis of the diffusivity of SDS allowed calculation of the adsorption number of strongly bound SDS on SWCNTs. The adsorption numbers from these techniques give the same values within experimental error, indicating that a significant fraction of the SDS interacting with nanotubes remains strongly bound for as long as 0.5 s, which is the maximum diffusion time used in the PFG NMR measurements