Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes sorting with a removable solubilizer based on dynamic supramolecular coordination chemistry

Fumiyuki Toshimitsu and Naotoshi Nakashima ()
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Fumiyuki Toshimitsu: Kyushu University
Naotoshi Nakashima: Kyushu University

Nature Communications, 2014, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Highly pure semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are essential for the next generation of electronic devices, such as field-effect transistors and photovoltaic applications; however, contamination by metallic SWNTs reduces the efficiency of their associated devices. Here we report a simple and efficient method for the separation of semiconducting- and metallic SWNTs based on supramolecular complex chemistry. We here describe the synthesis of metal-coordination polymers (CP-Ms) composed of a fluorene-bridged bis-phenanthroline ligand and metal ions. On the basis of a difference in the ‘solubility product’ of CP-M-solubilized semiconducting SWNTs and metallic SWNTs, we readily separated semiconducting SWNTs. Furthermore, the CP-M polymers on the SWNTs were simply removed by adding a protic acid and inducing depolymerization to the monomer components. We also describe molecular mechanics calculations to reveal the difference of binding and wrapping mode between CP-M/semiconducting SWNTs and CP-M/metallic SWNTs. This study opens a new stage for the use of such highly pure semiconducting SWNTs in many possible applications.

Date: 2014
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms6041

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