Single-walled carbon nanotube—potato amylose complex

Single-walled carbon nanotubes are wetted in aqueous solution of pure potato amylose and separated into homogenous suspension of nanotubes and sediment of bundled nanotubes. Similarly microcrystalline and colloidal graphite is wetted in the amylose solution whereas C60 fullerenes remained non-wetted. In the micro-Raman spectra of the amylose complexes with single-walled nanotubes, a relatively large shift of the ωD and ωG modes towards a higher wave number was observed. In such a spectra of complexes of microcrystalline and colloidal graphite corresponding shifts were much subtler. These changes in the spectra of nanotubes were accompanied by clear changes in the ratio of the integrated intensities of both the modes. No such changes could be noted in the spectra of amylose complexes with graphite. Optical, SEM and AFM microscopic observations of solidified complexes suggest that small nanotubes could be enveloped by amylose helices.