Microwave-induced rapid chemical functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The microwave-induced chemical functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) is reported. The major advantage of this high-energy procedure is that it reduced the reaction time to the order of minutes and the number of steps in the reaction procedure compared to that of conventional functionalization processes. Two successful model reactions, namely amidation and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of SWNTs were carried out. The amidation was completed in two steps as compared to three in the conventional approach. The step involving acid chloride formation was eliminated here, and the yield remained the same. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of SWNTs was carried out in 15 min under microwave conditions, and the results were similar to what was achieved in 5 days using conventional methods. This finding opens the door to fast and inexpensive processing to produce functional SWNTs, which is extremely important for their use in real-world applications.