Evaluation of affinity of molecules for carbon nanotubes

Recent developments of non-covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) require a systematic understanding of the interaction between molecule and CNTs (CNT-molecular interaction); however, it has been difficult to evaluate the “net” interaction between the CNTs and molecules. We now use silica gel particles coated with the pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in a monolayer fashion as the stationary phase of a HPLC column. The newly developed column (SWNT-column) worked as a powerful tool for ranking the interactions between the SWNTs and molecules with a high precision. We describe the binding affinity analysis of polyaromatic hydrocarbons onto the surfaces of SWNTs. The obtained ranking is determined in the order of benzene < naphthalene < biphenyl < fluorene < phenanthrene < anthracene ∼ pyrene < triphenylene < p-terphenyl < tetraphene < tetracene.