Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was modified with various length of linear alkyl chains and passivated to form dielectric filler. The modified SWNTs embedded into epoxy matrix to fabricate a flexible composite with high dielectric constant. The dielectric behavior of the composite was significantly changed with various alkyl chain length(n) of pyrene. The dielectric constant of the epoxy/SWNTs composite significantly increased with respect to increase in length of alkyl chain at the frequency range from 10 to 105 Hz (n=12and18). We also found that the passivated epoxy/SWNTs composite with high dielectric constant presented low dielectric loss. The resulted dielectric performances corresponded to de-bundling of nanotubes and their distribution behavior in the matrix in terms of tail length of alkyl pyrene in the passivation layer.

Isolated single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using a liquid precursor (xylene) as a carbon source. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy confirmed the isolated structure of the SWCNTs. Micro-Raman measurements showed a tangential G-band peak (1590cm-1) and radial breathing mode (RBM) peaks (150-240cm-1). The tube diameters determined from the RBM frequencies are in good agreement with those obtained from TEM. The chirality of the isolated SWCNTs could be determined based on the energy of the laser and their diameter. A further preliminary study on the nitrogen doping of isolated SWCNTs was carried out by the simple use of acetonitrile dissolved in the precusor.

Thin films of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) with various thicknesses were fabricated, and their optical andelectrical properties were investigated. The SWNTs of various thicknesses were directly coated in the arc-discharge chamberduring the synthesis and then thermally and chemically purified. The crystalline quality of the SWNTs was improved by thepurification processes as determined by Raman spectroscopy measurements. The resistance of the film is the lowest for thechemically purified SWNTs. The resistance vs. thickness measurements reveal the percolation thickness of the SWNT film tobe ~50nm. Optical absorption coefficient due to Beer-Lambert is estimated to be 7.1×10-2nm-1. The film thickness for 80%transparency is about 32nm, and the sheet resistance is 242Ω/sq. The authors also confirmed the relation between electricalconductance and optical conductance with very good reliability by measuring the resistance and transparency measurements.

We measured the non-carbon content of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in SWCNT soot using thermogravimetric analysis. The weight increased percentage by the oxidation of metal in the raw soot is well obtained by TGA graph which was confirmed with ICP-AES, XRD, and XPS. This work will be very useful for the purity precise evaluation of SWCNT with UN-vis-NIR spectroscopy.