The influence of oxygen-containing functional groups on the dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes in amide solvents

Surface Characterization of Carbonaceous Materials Using Inverse Gas Chromatography: A Review

It is essential to understand the adsorption of guest molecules on carbon-based materials for both theoretical and practical reasons. It is crucial to analyze the surface properties of carbon-based materials with a wide range of applications (e.g., catalyst supports, hydrogen storage, sensors, adsorbents, separation media, etc.). Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) as a powerful and sensitive technique can be used to characterize the surface physicochemical properties (i.e., Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, surface energy heterogeneity, heat of adsorption, specific interaction of adsorption, work of cohesion, glass transition temperatures, solubility, and so forth) of various types of materials such as powders, films, and fibers. In this review, the principles, common methods, and application of IGC are discussed. In addition, the examples of various experiments developed for the IGC to characterize the carbonaceous materials (such as carbon nanotubes, graphite, and activated carbon) are discussed.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study on Two-Component Solubility Parameters of Carbon Nanotubes and Precisely Tailoring the Thermodynamic Compatibility between Carbon Nanotubes and Polymers

Solubility parameters play an important role in predicting compatibility between components. The current study on solubility parameters of carbon materials (graphene, carbon nanotubes, and fullerene, etc.) is unsatisfactory and stagnant due to experimental limitations, especially the lack of a quantitative relationship between functional groups and solubility parameters. Fundamental understanding of the high-performance nanocomposites obtained by carbon material modification is scarce. Therefore, in the past, the trial and error method was often used for the modification of carbon materials, and no theory has been formed to guide the experiment. In this work, the effect of defects, size, and the number of walls on the Hildebrand solubility parameter (δ_T) of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Besides, three-component Hansen solubility parameters (δ_D, δ_p, δ_H) were transformed into two-component solubility parameters (δ_vdW, δ_elec). The quantitative relation between functional groups and two-component solubility parameters of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was then given. An important finding is that the δ_T and δ_vdW of SWCNTs first decrease, reach a minimum, and then increase with increasing grafting ratio. The thermodynamic compatibility between functionalized SWCNTs and six typical polymers was investigated by the Flory-Huggins mixing model. Two-component solubility parameters were proven to be able to effectively predict their compatibility. Importantly, we theoretically gave the optimum grafting ratio at which the compatibility between functionalized SWCNTs and polymers is the best. The functionalization principle of SWCNTs toward good compatibility between SWCNTs and polymers was also given. This study gives a new insight into the solubility parameters of functionalized SWCNTs and provides theoretical guidance for the preparation of high-performance SWCNTs/polymers composites.

Increased Adsorption of Heavy Metal Ions in Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with Improved Dispersion Stability

In recent years, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been intensively studied as an effective adsorbent for the removal of pollutants from wastewater. One of the main problems for its use corresponds to the agglomeration of the CNTs due to the interactions between them, which prevents using their entire surface area. In this study, we test the effect of dispersion of oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on the removal of heavy metals from acidic solutions. For this, polyurethane filters were dyed with a well-dispersed oxidized MWCNTs solution using chemical and mechanical dispersion methods. Filters were used in column experiments, and the sorption capacity increased more than six times (600%) compared to experiments with suspended MWCNTs. Further, kinetic experiments showed a faster saturation on MWCNTs in column experiments. These results contribute to a better understanding of the effect of dispersion on the use of CNTs as heavy metal ions adsorbent.

Oxygen content determines the bio-reactivity and toxicity profiles of carbon black particles

In spite of the considerable efforts invested to understand the environmental health and safety (EHS) impacts of ultrafine particles, such as the representative PM2.5, there are still significant knowledge gaps to be filled. No conclusive understandings have been obtained about the physicochemical determinants in accounting for differential adverse outcomes. Here we compared the cytotoxicity of four carbon black (CB) particles with similar physicochemical properties except for their oxygen contents (C824455 < C1864 < Printex U < SB4A). We found that these four CB particles manifested in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity reversely related to their oxygen contents, namely a hierarchy of cytotoxicity: C824455 > C1864 > Printex U > SB4A. Among these CB particles, the most significant lung injury (e.g. collapses and inflammation) and macrophagic activation were found for C824455 and C1864, in particular for C824455. All these differences in toxicity profiles, including in vitro and in vivo cytotoxicity, pro-inflammatory effects and direct damages to the lung epithelia, should be (at least partially) ascribed to the oxygen content in these CB particles that in turn determined their transformation, i.e. the different aggregation states. Nonetheless, PM2.5 likewise caused severe in vivo and in vitro toxicities to the lung cells and macrophages. This study thus offers more insights into the structure-activity relationship (SAR) and opens a new avenue to elucidate the physicochemical determinants in evoking lung injuries by ultrafine airborne particles.

Crucial Role of Oxidation Debris of Carbon Nanotubes in Subsequent End-Use Applications of Carbon Nanotubes

A facile purification method for oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is developed to preserve acidic carbon compounds (ACCs) for achieving high-quality dispersion of CNTs. The remaining ACCs, which originated from the surface destruction of CNTs during the oxidation process, are considered to play a crucial role in the dispersion of CNTs in water and various polar protic solvents. To elucidate the concrete role of ACCs, a direct titration method is applied to quantitatively investigate the degree of ionization of both CNTs and ACCs in their aqueous dispersions. While ACCs with strong carboxylic groups (pK_a of around 2.9) are easily removed by the neutral or base washing of oxidized CNTs, which is common in the purification process, ACC-selective purification using acid washing preserves the ACCs attached to CNTs, thereby effectively stabilizing CNT dispersions in aqueous solutions. Additionally, the Hansen solubility parameters of ACC-preserved and ACC-removed CNTs were determined by the inverse gas chromatography method to estimate their miscibility in various solvents. The preserved ACCs significantly influenced the dispersibility of CNTs in polar protic solvents, which may widen the possible application of CNTs. Specifically, the ACC-preserved high-quality CNT dispersion produces high-performance CNT buckypaper with densely packed nanostructures. The Young's modulus and tensile strength of these buckypapers reach up to 12.0 and 91.0 MPa, respectively, which exceed those of ACC-removed CNTs in previous reports.