US Patent 7304103 - Carbon nanotube functionalization using diazonium

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7304103.html

Diazonium salts are organic molecular structures which have been useful in functionalizing single-walled carbon nanotubes. This patent from James Tour's group at Rice University (with priority going back to 2001) seems to be a basic patent covering such functionalization. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for making a polymer material comprising: (a) derivatizing carbon nanotubes with functional moieties to form derivatized carbon nanotubes, wherein the functional moieties are derivatized to the carbon nanotubes utilizing a diazonium specie; (b) dispersing the derivatized carbon nanotubes in a polymer.