Microwave-induced electrophilic addition of single-walled carbon nanotubes with alkylhalides

We report the microwave-induced electrophilic addition of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with alkylhalides using Lewis acid as a catalyst followed by hydrolysis. The reaction results in the attachment of alkyl and hydroxyl groups to the surface of the nanotubes. This rapid and high-energy microwave radiation is found to be highly efficient for this reaction, which only needs as low as several minutes. The resulting nanotubes were characterized with FTIR, UV–vis–NIR, Raman, TGA, TEM and AFM. It demonstrates that iodo-alkanes show higher reaction activity with SWNTs than chloro- and bromo-alkanes.