Separation of double-walled carbon nanotubes by size exclusion column chromatography

In this report we demonstrate the separation of raw carbon nanotube material into fractions of double-walled (DWCNTs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Our method utilizes size exclusion chromatography with Sephacryl gel S-200 and yielded two distinct fractions of single- and double-walled nanotubes with average diameters of 0.93 ± 0.03 and 1.64 ± 0.15 nm, respectively. The presented technique is easily scalable and offers an alternative to traditional density gradient ultracentrifugation methods. CNT fractions were characterized by atomic force microscopy and Raman and absorption spectroscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy.