Preparation and characterization of water-based concentrated carbon nanotubes slurry with high dispersibility and stability

Abstract In order to apply the excellent properties of carbon nanotubes to the field of biomedicine, water-based high concentration carbon nanotubes(CNTs) slurry with high dispersibility and stability was prepared by adjusting illumination conditions and pH values. The infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, TEM and digital camera were used to investigate the effect of illumination conditions and pH values on the dispersibility and stability of the CNTs slurry. The results show that the CNTs slurry has more functional groups and can be sufficiently oxidized in the absence of light than in the natural and intense light conditions. And the higher light intensity used for oxidation treatment caused a decrease of the functional groups and the surface activity of the CNTs in the slurry. The increase of the pH value can promote electrostatic repulsion, and the enhancement of light intensity can decrease the electrostatic repulsion. So, the CNTs individuals oxidized in the absence of light possessed high dispersibility and stability as varying pH value from 11.5 to 4, which slurry concentration is 10 wt% and no CNTs settlement was observed for nearly one year. However, the CNTs in the water-based carbon nanotube slurry prepared under other illumination conditions re-agglomerated and settled after several days, especially when the pH value is below 4.