Study on Dispersion and Characterization of Functionalized MWCNTs Prepared by Wet Oxidation

The MWCNTs was functionalized by refluxing commercial MWCNTs (a-MWCNTs) in concentrated HNO3/H2SO4 (3:1 v/v) at 100°C for 6 hours. The dispersion of a-MWCNTs and functionalized MWCNTs (f-MWCNTs) were observed after 1 hour sonication in ethanol. Both samples were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy for dispersion behavior. The dried f-MWCNTs and a-MWCNTs were characterized by Raman spectroscopy to estimate the defect level. The morphology of the samples were analyzed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The f-MWCNTs was well dispersed in ethanol within 2 weeks of observations period. The colloidal stability of a-MWCNTs was low as it was easily sediment after 24 hours. The UV-vis spectra of f-MWCNTs show maximum absorbance at 250 nm meanwhile no absorbance was observed for a-MWCNTs. Analysis from Raman spectrum shows that the f-MWCNTs have relative intensity of 1.101 which is higher than a-MWCNTs that have relative intensity of 0.935. The image from TEM revealed that the f-MWCNTs have structural defects and the absence of amorphous carbon on sidewall meanwhile the a-MWCNTs indicate otherwise.