CONTROLLING THE FUNCTIONALIZATION OF CARBON NANOTUBES AND GRAPHENE NANOPLATELETS

The functionalization of carbon nanostructures by diazonium chemistry is a versatile strategy to obtain soluble nanomaterials with degrees of functionalization among the highest ever reported.[1,2] Starting from these premises we have studied the functionalization of single, double and multi-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets by addition of aryl diazonium salts generated in situ by treatment of 4-substituted anilines with isopentylnitrite. Taking advantage of highly controlled flow synthesis [3-5] and following a thorough purification and characterization protocol (UV-vis, TGA, ATR-IR, AFM and other surface tools), we have investigated the key parameters to obtain both functionalized nanostructures, where the amount of functional groups anchored to the carbon surface is less than a monolayer, and superfunctionalized nanostructures with a carbon core and a multilayered aryl coating. The results outlined provides the basis for the design and controlled processing of novel decorated carbon nanostructures that would be useful for a number of technological applications.