Ammonium Laurate Surfactant for Cleaner Deposition
of Carbon Nanotubes
- Publication date
- Publisher
Abstract
Experiments
probing the properties of individual carbon nanotubes
(CNTs) and those measuring bulk composites show vastly different results.
One major issue limiting the results is that the procedures required
to separate and test CNTs introduce contamination that changes the
properties of the CNT. These contamination residues often come from
the resist used in lithographic processing and the surfactant used
to suspend and deposit the CNTs, commonly sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).
Here we present ammonium laurate (AL), a surfactant that has previously
not been used for this application, which differs from SDS only by
substitution of ionic constituents but shows vastly cleaner depositions.
In addition, we show that compared to SDS, AL-suspended CNTs have
greater shelf stability and more selective dispersion. These results
are verified using transmission electron microscopy, atomic force
microscopy, ζ-potential measurements, and Raman and absorption
optical spectroscopy. This surfactant is simple to prepare, and the
nanotube solutions require minimal sonication and centrifugation in
order to outperform SDS