Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted enormous attention in recent years due to its unique physical, electronic, optical and potential applications in materials science and nanotechnology. The van der Waals interaction between tubes, however, makes CNTs aggregate in most organic solvents and aqueous solutions, which is the major limitation of their practical applications.Various approaches have been studied to alter the CNT surface to promote the dispersion of individual nanotubes and prevent their reaggregation. On the basis of this widely accepted viewpoint, numerous techniques such as covalent bonding, surfactant coating and polymer wrapping have been developed for surface modification or sidewall functionalization.These methods, however, are complicated, time-consuming and cause permanent damage to the CNT structure and properties of the surface, which produces residues of the dispersion agent for the final product. Figure: Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWCNT) It ha...
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