Paper NS-ThP8
Phosphorylation of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Thursday, October 18, 2007, 5:30 pm, Room 4C

Carbon nanotubes are among the most exciting new materials being investigated and synthesized, owing to their outstanding mechanical, electronic and optical properties.^1,2 Fore more than a decade, the translation of these properties into realistic applications has been hindered by solubility and processing difficulties.³ Recently the development of efficient methodologies for covalent chemical modifications has raised hope for the use of these materials in various fields of application such as biosensors, vaccine and drug delivery systems, medical imaging, biomaterials, water purification⁴ etc. As part of an ongoing project on the application of carbon nanotubes, we which to report here the incorporation of phosphorus moieties on the end and side walls of the multiwalled carbon nanotubes obtained through NaClO oxidation followed by condensation reactions with alkyl or aryl chlorophosphates. Characterization of the phosphorylated multiwalled carbon nanotubes has been done by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman spectroscopy. It is anticipated that these new compounds could provide interesting biological activity in biological systems, and properties that might allow their incorporation into both organic and inorganic polymer matrices.

¹ M.F. Yu, B.S. Files, S. Arealli and R.S. Ruoff. Phys. Rev. Lett. 84 (2000), 5552
² R. Saito, G Dresselhaus and M.S. Dressehaus. Physical properties of carbon nanotubes, Imperial College Press; London, 1998
³ Gabriel G, Sauthier, Fraxedas J, Moreno-Manas M, Martinez M. T, Miravitlles and Casabo J. Carbon 44 (2006) 1891-1897.
⁴ Son S. J, Reichel J, He B, Schuchman M and Lee S. B. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127 (2005) 7316-7317.