Fluorescence concentration studies of HiPco SWNTs and semi-conjugated polymers

Photoluminescence intensity PL measurements were taken for a range of PmPV concentrations, in which HiPco single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) at 100%, 10%, 1%, 0.1%, 0.01% and 0% mass fractions were added. The PL intensity of the composite was shown to decrease for all mass fractions, relative to the polymer up to 1.56×10^-3g/l of PmPV, above which there is an initial increase in the composite emission yield with respect to the polymer. This increase is associated with an interaction within the composite, which results in a decrease in polymer aggregate formation, which has been shown to quench intensity yields. Within the concentration range studied 5.9×10 ^-8g/l to 2g/l the photoluminescence intensity yield for each system is highly non linear. Previously the ratio of the maximum PL intensity of the composite, which includes both, bound and unbound polymer chains, and the maximum PL intensity of the polymer, which includes only unbound polymer chains was plotted as a function of polymer concentration. From this the authors calculated the amount of free polymer within each composite and derived a model, which showed that as the polymer concentration is lowered the bundles break up until isolated SWNTs are stable at low concentrations. In particular for their 100% mass fraction polymer/HiPco SWNT it was shown that individual nanotubes are stable in solutions -3×10-5kg/m³. Here we utilize this approach and results indicate that as the mass fraction of nanotubes in reduced, individual nanotubes are stable at higher polymer concentrations. In particular for our 100% mass fraction results indicate that below -1.5×10 ^-4g/l individual nanotubes are stable. This result indicates that the choice of polymer and or solvent has a significant effect on the debundling and aggregation within these systems.