Web Release Date: January 4,
Assembly of 
-Cyclodextrins Acting as Molecular Bricks onto Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes
and
Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Heilongjiang University, 150080 Harbin, Center of Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100080 Beijing, and State Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computation Chemistry, Jilin University, 130023 Changchun, People's Republic of China
Received: July 19, 2007
In Final Form: October 3, 2007
Abstract:
Multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT)--cyclodextrin (-CD) composites have been successfully synthesized
through combining polymer wrapping and layer-by-layer self-assembly techniques. The obtained materials
were characterized in detail by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry,
scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and nulcear magnetic
resonance. The analytical results indicated that the introduction of -CD debundled MWCNT bundles and
endowed MWCNTs with uniform architecture. Furthermore, the obtained MWCNT--CD composites
possessed good dispersibility in both ethanol and water media, and the solution was found to be very stable
for several weeks. To further clarify the interaction between MWCNTs and -CD, a molecular mechanics
(MM) method was performed for the first time. Combining experimental results with MM simulations, a
reasonable formation mechanism is also presented in this paper. The driving forces for the formation of
well-defined MWCNT--CD composites originated from (1) van der Waals forces between MWCNTs and
-CD and (2) hydrogen-bonding interaction between adjacent -CD molecules. Both forces induced the ordered
assembly and arrangement of -CD onto the surface of MWCNTs, where -CD molecules acted as molecular
bricks.
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