US Patent 8052075 - Microwave purification of single walled carbon nanotubes

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8052075.html


This patent from Micron Technology teaches a way to remove the metallic type of single walled carbon nanotubes leaving single walled nanotubes useful as semiconducting material. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process, comprising:

treating a mixture of metallic carbon nanotubes and semiconductive carbon nanotubes in a liquid by applying microwave energy, the liquid selected such that the semiconductive carbon nanotubes do not significantly decompose in the liquid,

wherein treating the mixture is carried out under conditions of applying the microwave energy to the liquid containing the metallic carbon nanotubes and semiconductive carbon nanotubes to remove metallic carbon nanotubes but to leave semiconductive carbon nantoubes.