Preparation And Properties Of Carbon Nanotubes Filled With Intelligent Hydrogel Composite

Carbon nanotubes have unique physical and chemical properties as well as many excellent properties. It has been popular topic in the field of nano-science and materials. Previous studies of carbon nanotubes mostly concentrated on the external modification and composites. The relative research on the specific nature of the substance inside carbon nanotubes’ confined space is still insufficient. This is mainly due to the limitation of the traditional filling methods. In this work we designed a nano-porous CNT membrane. After inter-diffusion of reactants and in-situ polymerization in the nano-channels, the temperature-sensitive, pH-sensitive and fluorescent hydrogel are successfully introduced into 15 nm diameter CNT channels. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM), micro-infrared spectroscopy(Micro-FITR) and confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscope are used to characterize the new complex. Our method can greatly improve the filling efficiency and controllability. Meanwhile it can avoid the hydrogel to wrap the external walls of carbon nanotubes. The nano-channel of the CNT becomes more hydrophilic after the infilling of the hydrogel, which not only facilitate the transportation of water, but also form an intelligent ionic channel. Besides, carbon nanotubes can also protect the fluorescent hydrogel from the fluorescence quenching. This unique carbon nanotube infilled with intelligent hydrogels composites are of great importance in the field of intelligent ion channels, drug-delivery and bio-imaging.