2. Proposal

Despite their unique physical, mechanical and electronic properties single-walled carbon nanotube-based technology has commenced slowly. This can be traced back to two major hurdles namely their poor solubility in common solvents on the one hand and the polydispersity of the as-produced material with regard to diameter, length and chirality on the other hand. SWCNT solubilization can conveniently be achieved by the aid of surfactants noncovalently anchored to the SWCNT surface. The resulting dispersion can be subjected to sorting scenarios recently developed. However, up to now, separation efficiencies and yields are poor as sorting is restricted to individualized SWCNTs. Individualization rates by common surfactants are below 25% (after mild centrifugation) so that novel SWCNT surfactants with superior properties are sought for.