Development of a Method for High Purity Separation of SWCNT by AIST
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) come in two main forms,one being the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and the other is the multi-walled nanotubes (MWCNT). The structure of a SWCNT is a one-atom-thick layer of graphite which is called graphene, wrapped into a seamless cylinder with open or closed ends. Depending on the arrangement of the carbon atoms, SWCNT exhibits metallic or semiconducting properties. Normally, the synthesis of SWCNTs yields a mixture of these two types. However, if the these two types can be separated in high purity, they can be utilized in many potential applications. For instance, metallic SWCNTs can be used as transparent electrodes in production of liquid crystal displays or solar cells instead of the transparent conductive materials which is prepared using rare metals, also the metallic SWCNTs can be used in wiring ,in development of high-integration high-speed SWCNT computers. On the other hand semiconducting SWCNT can be employed as transparent and flexible transistors. Read more
