Aqueous stabilization of carbon nanotubes: effects of surface oxidization and solution chemistry

Surface oxygen functional groups can affect the morphological characteristics, aggregation kinetics, and adsorption capacity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). However, little is known about the quantitative relationship between oxygen content and the dispersion stability of MWCNTs. To investigate the effects of surface oxidization, MWCNTs were oxidized using concentrated H2SO4/HNO3 acids for 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 h, respectively. Experimental results showed that the oxygen content of MWCNTs increased with surface oxidization time. Linear correlations were found to exist between the oxygen content, critical coagulation concentration (CCC) for NaCl, and critical coagulation pH values of MWCNTs detected by optical density at 800 nm. The CCC values for CaCl2 increased with oxygen contents for unmodified MWCNTs and lowly oxidized MWCNTs, while which decreased after further increasing the surface oxidization. CCC ratios in the presence of Ca(2+) to Na(+) were consistent with the empirical Schulze-Hardy rule for unmodified MWCNTs and lowly oxidized MWCNTs; however, which were much lower than the expected values for highly oxidized MWCNTs. Fulvic acid can clearly increase the stability of MWCNT suspension with unmodified MWCNTs and lowly oxidized MWCNTs, while it cannot affect the dispersion of highly oxidized MWCNTs. This study implied that the oxidation and presence of fulvic acid will possibly increase the mobility, exposure, bioavailability, and toxicity of MWCNTs.