Generic approach for dispersing single-walled carbon nanotubes: The strength of a weak interaction

A generic noncovalent approach for dispersing high concentrations of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in organic as well as aqueous solutions of synthetic block copolymers is presented. It is suggested that a weak, long-ranged entropic repulsion among polymer-decorated tubes acts as a barrier that prevents the tubes from approaching the attractive part of the intertube potential. The method opens a new route for utilization of block copolymers as compatibilizers for SWNT, improving the incorporation of de-agglomerated SWNT into target polymeric matrixes.