ORGN 41 |
| Reduction of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) by alkali metals yields nanotube salts that are soluble in polar solvents. Reductive alkylation of nanotube salts prepared using lithium in liquid ammonia yields sidewall-functionalized nanotubes that are soluble in common organic solvents. Atomic force microscopy and tunneling electron microscopy of dodecylated SWNTs prepared from raw HiPco nanotubes show that extensive debundling has occurred. The debundling can be explained in terms of extensive intercalation by the lithium, leading to lithium ions dispersed between the negatively charged tubes. GC-MS analysis of the byproduct hydrocarbons demonstrates that alkyl radicals are intermediates in the alkylation step. This sonication free process provides a means to measure the length of the SWNTs by atomic force microscopy. Large fullerenes that are formed during the synthesis of SWNTs can also be alkylated by free radicals and extracted into organic solvents. |
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James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry
1:00 PM-5:00 PM, Sunday, 13 March 2005 Convention Center -- Ballroom 20 C-D, Oral
Division of Organic Chemistry |