Methods for removing polymer coatings from single-walled carbon nanotubes
Methods for removing polymer coatings from the surfaces of single-walled carbon nanotubes are provided. The methods remove polymer coatings that are used to selectively wrap and sort semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes from metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes. The methods are based on a process of detaching a polymer coatings by binding transition metal complexes to bi-pyridine repeat units within the polymer backbone.
1. A method for removing a polymer coating from semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes, the method comprising forming a solution comprising: (a) semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes coated with a polymer comprising bi-pyridine repeat units in its backbone; (b) a transition metal salt; and (c) a solvent, wherein the transition metal salt binds to the bi-pyridine units, causing the polymer to detach from the semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a conjugated polyfluorene or a conjugated polyfluorene derivative.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transition metal salt is a transition metal carbonyl salt.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transition metal salt is a rhenium salt.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the rhenium salt is pentacarbonylrhenium chloride.
6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the polymer is poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-alt-co-(6,6′-{2,2′-bipyridine})].
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the transition metal salt is a rhenium carbonyl salt.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the rhenium salt is selected from pentacarbonylrhenium chloride, dirhenium decacarbonyl, or dichlorotetracarbonyldirhodium.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solvent is chloroform.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes have diameters in the range from 1.3 to 1.7 nm.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes have diameters in the range from 0.7 to 1.0 nm.
12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes have diameters in the range from 1.3 to 1.7 nm.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the transition metal salt is pentacarbonylrhenium chloride.