| abstract |
Dispersible pastes are prepared comprising single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) in water or in an organic solvent. The method of preparing dispersible pastes generally comprises the following steps: a) separation of the catalyst used during the synthesis of SWNTs; b) while the SWNTs are still wet, adding the appropriate amount of the solvent, in a ratio of solvent / SWNT which preferably varies between 30: 1 and 100: 1, depending on the desired viscosity of the paste; and c) sonication with high energy horn with a dismemberment probe. The resulting pastes are suitable for easy redispersion in solvents and incorporation in various matrices such as polymers. They are also suitable to be impregnated with metal precursors such as noble metal compounds, for example, Pt. Appropriate drying and thermal treatments of the impregnated material produce SWNT metal composite materials in which small metal groups can be dispersed on The surface of the nanotube. These metal-SWNT composite materials can find application as catalysts as well as electrodes for fuel cells, batteries and capacitors. |