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An investigation on dispersion of carbon nanotubes in chitosan aqueous solutions

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Abstract

The dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in water of different pH and in chitosan aqueous solution of three acids, acetic acid, formic acid, and hydrochloric acid, was investigated. Chitosan was soluble in water of pH ≤3 and could well disperse untreated CNT and acid-treated CNT, both of which had poor dispersion in water of pH ≤3. With the presence of 0.1 wt% chitosan in solution, particle sizes of the CNT dispersion were found to decrease with increasing COOH contents on the CNT. Particle sizes of CNT, untreated and acid-treated, in the three acidic aqueous solutions were found to increase with increasing chitosan contents in solutions. Among the three acids, hydrochloric acid gave the smallest particle size of the CNT dispersion. Without chitosan, the dispersibility of the acid-treated CNT in aqueous solutions of three acids was in the order of acetic acid > formic acid > hydrochloric acid.

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Acknowledgment

We thank the National Science Council of Taiwan for financial support for this work under the contract NSC 96-2221-E-390-033-MY2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung, 811, Taiwan

    Yeong-Tarng Shieh & Yi-Chang Chung

  2. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou, Yunlin, 640, Taiwan

    Hong-Mao Wu

  3. Department and Graduate Program of Bioindustry Technology, Dayeh University, Dacun, Changhua, 515, Taiwan

    Yawo-Kuo Twu

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  1. Yeong-Tarng Shieh
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  2. Hong-Mao Wu
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  3. Yawo-Kuo Twu
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  4. Yi-Chang Chung
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Correspondence to Yeong-Tarng Shieh.

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Shieh, YT., Wu, HM., Twu, YK. et al. An investigation on dispersion of carbon nanotubes in chitosan aqueous solutions. Colloid Polym Sci 288, 377–385 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-009-2126-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-009-2126-9

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