NOTICE: Due to a lapse in annual appropriations, most of this website is not being updated. Learn more.
Form submissions will still be accepted but will not receive responses at this time. Sections of this site for programs using non-appropriated funds (such as NVLAP) or those that are excepted from the shutdown (such as CHIPS and NVD) will continue to be updated.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Quantification of Carbon Nanotube Liquid Crystal Morphology via Neutron Scattering
Published
Author(s)
Francesca Mirri, Rana N. Ashkar, Vida Jamali, Lucy Liberman, Robert A. Pinnick, Paul van der Schoot, Yeshayahu Talmon, Paul Butler, Matteo Pasquali
Abstract
Liquid phase assembly is among the most industrially attractive routes for scalable carbon nanotube (CNT) processing. Chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) was found to be an ideal solvent for CNTs, spontaneously dissolving them without compromising their properties. At typical processing concentrations, CNTs form liquid crystals in CSA; however, the type of of ordering and its concentration-dependence are not completely understood. Here, we use small angle neutron scattering, combined with polarized light microscopy and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, to characterize CNT-CSA solution morphology at various concentrations for long and short CNTs. At the highest concentrations studied, and as theoretically predicted, the long CNTs form a fully nematic phase, while the short CNTs remain in biphasic regime. Upon dilution, long CNTs undergo a 2D lattice expansion, whereas short CNTs seem to have an intermediate expansion between 2D and 3D. Our data confirm the efficacy of CSA as a true solvent for CNTs.
Mirri, F.
, Ashkar, R.
, Jamali, V.
, Liberman, L.
, Pinnick, R.
, van der Schoot, P.
, Talmon, Y.
, Butler, P.
and Pasquali, M.
(2018),
Quantification of Carbon Nanotube Liquid Crystal Morphology via Neutron Scattering, Macromolecules, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=923759
(Accessed October 2, 2025)