Binary gradient elution of semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes by gel chromatography for their separation according to chirality

Binary gradient elution is used for the rapid separation of semiconducting (s-) single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with single or few chiralities using single-column sephacryl gel chromatography. It is found that single-component elution with sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) or sodium deoxycholate (DOC) solution at optimum concentrations favors the separation of SWCNTs by electronic type and diameter. Moreover, with binary gradient elution using SDS/DOC cosurfactant solution, s-SWCNTs can be further separated according to chirality. This indicates that the structure-sensitive interaction of SWCNTs with the gel is available to be finely and selectively modulated by eluent composition.