Modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with 1,4-diaminobutane dihydrochloride through heating at reflux

ABSTRACT

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been used to propose solutions and develop better quality products that can be applied to areas such as electronics, materials, chemistry, physics and power generation. However, the tendency of CNTs to agglomerate due to their nanometer size and low interaction with other molecules caused by their structural stability has been problematic. For this reason, the present work presents surface modification of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) through heating at reflux using 1,4-diaminobutane dihydrochloride. The modification of MWCNT was analyzed by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Termogravimetry (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The most significant change on MWCNTs was obtained after a 24-hour treatment with a maximum percentage of nitrogen content of 2.72%.

KEYWORDS:

• MWCNT
• modification
• spectroscopy
• nanotubes

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) (215242). This work forms part of the Post Doctorate study financed by a scholarship from CONACYT. The authors wish to thank the National Laboratory of Nano and Biomaterials (CONACyT) of the CINVESTAV-Mérida for realizing the analysis of SEM-EDX, FTIR, TGA and XPS, in particular Ph. D. degree Patricia Quintana Owen, M.S. degree Dora Quintanilla Huerta, and Biologist Ana Cristóbal Ramos.