Abstract

Carbon nanotubes are currently the focus of intense interest due to their extraordinary properties. However, asgrown nanotubes exist as bundles of metallic and semiconducting. This hinders their widespread applications. Much progress has been made to overcome this limitation. Many separation methods have been investigated, including combination of physical, chemical, or biochemical methods. These methods have demonstrated their own advantages and limitations. This paper reviews recent patents progress made for the separation of metallic and semiconducting nanotubes.

Keywords: Single-walled carbon nanotubes, dielectrophoresis, density-gradient ultracentrifugation, selective functionalization, chromatography