Photoluminescence Mapping of “As-Grown” Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: A Comparison with Micelle-Encapsulated Nanotube Solutions

Abstract

Band gap photoluminescence (PL) is observed from "as-grown" single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in solid form. The relative PL intensities for six specific semiconducting SWNTs are compared directly to those of the micelle-encapsulated SWNTs' solutions to investigate the influence of the micelle dispersion process on PL measurements. The results indicate that sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and sodium cholate (SC) selectively solubilize smaller-diameter nanotubes, whereas sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) solution does not exhibit significant diameter selectivity within the diameter range studied here (d(t) = 0.829-0.966 nm).