Synthesis of well-organised carbon nanotube membranes from non-degradable plastic bags with tuneable molecular transport: Towards nanotechnological recycling

摘要

This study presents a nanotechnological approach to convert commercially available and non-degradable grocery plastic bags into well-organised carbon nanotube membranes with tuneable molecular transport properties. In this nanotechnological process, plastic bags are used as a carbon source while carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are produced by a catalyst/solvent-free chemical vapour deposition (CVD) approach. Furthermore, CNTs are grown inside nanoporous anodic alumina membranes (NAAMs) featuring hexagonally arranged nanop-ores, which enable the control over the nanotubes' organisation and geometry. The transport performance of the resulting CNTs-NAAMs is tested by several dye molecules with positive, negative and neutral charge. These results demonstrate the ability of these membranes to selectively tune molecular transport as a function of the interaction between molecules and inner surface of CNTs. This study proves that an environmentally non-degradable wastematerial as commercial plastic bags can be directly used to produce such sophisticated nanodevices as CNTs membranes.