Precise Partitioning of Metallic SWCNTs and Enantiomers Through Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction

Published

April 3, 2025

Author(s)

Han Li, Ming Zheng, Jeffrey Fagan

Abstract

Separation of single-chirality single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and their enantiomers holds significant potential for materials science and various applications but challenges in scalability and precision persist. In this study, we introduce a systemic approach to identify separation conditions for metallic SWCNTs in aqueous two-phase extraction (ATPE), precisely identifying improved conditions for isolating multiple armchair and chiral (n,m) species. We quantify these conditions by determining partition coefficient change condition (PCCC) values for both binary and ternary surfactant combinations. This information enables optimization for efficient separation of high-purity armchair nanotubes such as (6,6), (7,7), (8,8) and (9,9), and for isolation of enantiomeric non-armchair nanotubes, including challenging metallic species such as the (8,5), (7,4), (9,3), (10,4) and (10,7). Lastly, separated single (n,m) populations are re-separated in ATPE at precise steps in both binary and ternary surfactant mixtures to resolve their enantiomers, extracting information on the underlying mechanism of metallic SWCNT ATPE and highlighting the utility of sodium cholate for achieving single enantiomer level separations.

Citation

ACS Nano

Volume

19

Issue

14

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c00025

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Keywords

carbon nanotube, SWCNT, ATPE, separations, spectroscopy

Citation

Li, H. , Zheng, M. and Fagan, J. (2025), Precise Partitioning of Metallic SWCNTs and Enantiomers Through Aqueous Two-Phase Extraction, ACS Nano, [online], https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c00025, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=959305 (Accessed April 30, 2026)

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