Ordering in a droplet of an aqueous suspension of single-wall carbon nanotubes on a solid substrate

We report on a series of experiments on the aqueous, nematic liquid crystalline phase of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and their ordered assemblies on the solid substrates. The nanotubes were dispersed at a low concentration of isotropic phase, and the concentration was gradually increased by the controlled evaporation of water. In-situ isotropic-to-liquid crystalline phase transition via a biphasic region was observed during water evaporation. Drying on a substrate demonstrated the effect of surface fields on the order and alignment of SWNTs in the liquid suspension and the influence on the structure of the deposited nanotubes after evaporation.