Molecular Assembly of Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes with Amino Crown Ether: Synthesis and Characterization

Abstract

Synthetic methodology and physicochemical characterization of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) functionalized with a crown ether molecule is reported. The MWCNTs were synthesized by spray pyrolysis technique using toluene as carbon source and ferrocene as catalyst. The nanotubes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Oxidation of MWCNTs was carried out by 8 h of sonication in a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acid (3:1). The MWCNT-COOH was amidated with 4-aminobenzo-15-crown-5 under mild reaction conditions using N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and dimethylaminopyridine as catalyst and dimethylformamide as solvent, at room temperature for 24 h. The amidation product was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and a mass spectrometry study to determine the fragmentation pattern being m/z 309, 177 and 149 the most important ions.

Methods for carbon nanotubes synthesis—review

“…141 In another study, Camarena and colleagues prepared MWNTs by spray pyrolysis using toluene as the carbon source and ferrocene as the catalyst. 142 Sadeghian reported preparation of MWNTs by spray pyrolysis, using hexane as a carbon source and ferrocene as a catalyst precursor. 143 Clean and aligned MWNTs produced by aerosol pyrolysis of mixed liquid aerosols composed of both liquid hydrocarbon (toluene or cyclohexane) and catalyst precursor (ferrocene) were also reported by Pinault et al 144 In another work, Nebol'sin and Vorob'ev studied CNTs growth via catalytic pyrolysis of acetylene.…”

Dendrimer crown-ether tethered multi-wall carbon nanotubes support methyltrioxorhenium in the selective oxidation of olefins to epoxides

“…1,2 They show surface defect sites for the anchoring of spacer chains and selective recognition sites, as for example for crown ethers. 3 Different applications of MWCNTs-crown ether functionalized systems are reported, 4 including dispersive microsolid phase extraction procedures, 5 exchange reaction in quasi-solid-state processes, 6 absorption of metals and organic pollutants, 7 and ion-detection. 8 In these latter cases, MWCNT-crown ether tethered poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers received increasing attention.…”

β-Cyclodextrin-grafted on multiwalled carbon nanotubes as versatile nanoplatform for entrapment of guanine-based drugs

“…passive diffusion by means of "nanoneedle" or energy-dependent cellular uptake [6]. CNT surface modification by macrocyclic host molecules, such as crown ethers [7,8], calixarenes [9], cyclodextrins [10][11][12][13], cucurbiturils [14], has gained significant attention because of their important roles in supramolecular chemistry. Among a wide range of macrocyclic molecules, ␤-cyclodextrins (␤-CD), cyclic oligosaccharides based on seven d-glucose units linked by ␣-1,4 glucose bond, are well established drug carriers with high biocompatibility able to host different guest molecules by inclusion into the cavity or interaction with external rims.…”