The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWNTs) have attracted significant attention as promising materials for next-generation electronic devices due to their outstanding electrical properties. Raw single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) consist of both metallic and semiconducting species, and the presence of metallic SWNTs degrades device performance. To overcome this limitation, conjugated polymer extraction (CPE) has been widely employed. While CPE enables the high-purity separation of s-SWNTs, it remains constrained by relatively low extraction yields. In this study, we introduced a molecular cofactor that assists the conjugated polymer in dispersing SWNTs more rapidly and stably. We demonstrate the extraction yield can be effectively tuned by the concentration of the molecular cofactor, with an optimal yield achieved at a specific cofactor concentration. This approach provides a route toward high-yield production of s-SWNTs for next-generation electronic applications.