We report the first direct measurement of surface hydrophilicity−hydrophobicity in multiwall carbon
nanotubes (MWNTs) by analyzing the binary solvent adsorption excess isotherms of freshly oxidized as
well as thermally annealed MWNT samples. Heat-induced changes in the sample morphology are monitored
by XRD and N2 adsorption isotherms, the hydrophilic−hydrophobic surface ratio is calculated from ethanol−cyclohexane adsorption excess isotherms. The surface fractal dimension and the dimension of the capillary
condensation are also determined. Results obtained from these independent methods correlate well with
each other. The character of the MWNT surface gradually turns from hydrophilic (no treatment) into
hydrophobic (12 h in N2 at 1673 K) upon heating. The suggested method appears to be a feasible, reliable,
fast, and economic technique of characterizing MWNT surface properties.
A simple method is offered to quantitatively characterise the hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties of carbon nanotubes by measuring binary solvent mixture adsorption.
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