Dispersion of Pristine Carbon Nanotubes Using Conjugated Block Copolymers

A complete dispersion of both single-wall and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to individual tube level was achieved using a conjugated block copolymer without chemical modification of the pristine CNTs. The block copolymer contains two structural segments, a conjugated poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) segment and a polystyrene (PS) segment. P3HT block forms π–π interactions with CNTs, while the polystyrene block provides a good solubility to the de-bundled carbon nanotubes. This approach is generic for carbon nanotube dispersion.