The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 03, 2006
Filed:
Dec. 21, 2001
Daniel T. Colbert, Houston, TX (US);
Hongjie Dai, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Jason H. Hafner, Somerville, MA (US);
Andrew G. Rinzler, Newberry, FL (US);
Richard E. Smalley, Houston, TX (US);
Jie Liu, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Kenneth A. Smith, Katy, TX (US);
Ting Guo, Davis, CA (US);
Pavel Nikolaev, Houston, TX (US);
Andreas Thess, Kusterdingen, DE;
Daniel T. Colbert, Houston, TX (US);
Hongjie Dai, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Jason H. Hafner, Somerville, MA (US);
Andrew G. Rinzler, Newberry, FL (US);
Richard E. Smalley, Houston, TX (US);
Jie Liu, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
Kenneth A. Smith, Katy, TX (US);
Ting Guo, Davis, CA (US);
Pavel Nikolaev, Houston, TX (US);
Andreas Thess, Kusterdingen, DE;
William Marsh Rice University, Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
This invention relates generally to a single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) purification process and more particularly to a purification process that comprises heating the SWNT-containing felt under oxidizing conditions to remove the amorphous carbon deposits and other contaminating materials. In a preferred mode of this purification procedure, the felt is heated in an aqueous solution of an inorganic oxidant, such as nitric acid, a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and sulfuric acid, or a potassium permanganate. Preferably, SWNT-containing felts are refluxed in an aqueous solution of an oxidizing acid at a concentration high enough to etch away amorphous carbon deposits within a practical time frame, but not so high that the single-wall carbon nanotube material will be etched to a significant degree. When material having a high proportion of SWNT is purified, the preparation produced will be enriched in single-wall nanotubes, so that the SWNT are substantially free of other material.