Abstract
Carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) are a convenient membrane-based model system for studying nanofluidic transport that replicates a number of key structural features of biological membrane channels. We present a generalized approach for CNTP synthesis using sonochemistry-assisted segmenting of carbon nanotubes. Prolonged tip sonication in the presence of lipid molecules debundles and fragments long carbon nanotube aggregates into stable and water-soluble individual CNTPs with lengths in the range 5-20 nm. We discuss the main parameters that determine the efficiency and the yield of this process, describe the optimized conditions for high-yield CNTP synthesis, and demonstrate that this methodology can be adapted for synthesis of CNTPs of different diameters. We also present the optical properties of CNTPs and show that a combination of Raman and UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy can be used to monitor the quality of the CNTP synthesis. Overall, CNTPs represent a versatile nanopore building block for creating higher-order functional biomimetic materials.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3117-3125 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Journal of Physical Chemistry C |
| Volume | 121 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 9 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Energy(all)
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films