2013 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 75-83
There are two types of carbon nanotubes (CNTs): metallic and semiconducting. To exploit their superior electric properties, mixtures of these two types of CNTs should be separated. For industrial applications, a large-scale, low-cost separation method is required. We successfully developed novel separation methods for CNTs by applying separation methods for biomolecules. We first applied agarose gel electrophoresis, and finally achieved large-scale, low-cost separation by the column method. Using this method, we provided separated CNT samples. A separation method for single structure semiconducting CNTs was also developed by overloading CNTs into tandemly arranged multi-columns. The point of timing of patent application, publication of research results, and budget application to carry out this research effectively is also presented in this paper.
