Issue 3, 2011

Separation and/or selective enrichment of single-walled carbon nanotubes based on their electronic properties

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) possess unique electronic properties that make them very promising materials for use in both nano-electronics and thin film devices. However, SWNTs are always produced as a mixture of metallic and semiconducting nanotubes, which is a major roadblock to their widespread application. This tutorial review provides a brief summary of ways of separating single-walled carbon nanotubes into metallic and semiconducting fractions. Various methods including selective growth, selective removal, selective adsorption and band structure modulation—all of which aim to produce pure SWNTs with well-defined electronic properties—are systematically discussed. The main problems in this field, the outlook for separation techniques and some views of future developments are presented.

Graphical abstract: Separation and/or selective enrichment of single-walled carbon nanotubes based on their electronic properties

Article information

Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
29 Jan 2010
First published
07 Dec 2010

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011,40, 1324-1336

Separation and/or selective enrichment of single-walled carbon nanotubes based on their electronic properties

H. Zhang, B. Wu, W. Hu and Y. Liu, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2011, 40, 1324 DOI: 10.1039/B920457C

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