De-bundling of single-wall carbon nanotubes induced by an electric field during arc discharge synthesis

As-prepared single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) usually aggregate into bundles that have diameters of tens of nanometers, and these bundles are very difficult to separate by post-synthesis treatment for characterization and applications. In this study, we applied a constant electric field during the synthesis of SWCNTs by arc discharge method. As a result, ∼98% of the SWCNT bundles obtained have diameters less than 10 nm, and more than 50% of the bundles are less than 3 nm in diameter, indicating a large population of isolated single or pairs of SWCNTs.