Anisotropy of SWNT

Since the discovery of SWNTs, they have been expected to become the building blocks of the next generation of functional nanomaterials. However, their strong cohesive property and poor solubility have restricted the use of SWNTs for fundamental and applied research fields. One method to overcome these problems is to make the SWNTs more soluble by wrapping them with polymers [31]. At the same time, the fabrication of high-performance carbon nanotube (CNT)-based composites is driven by the ability to create anisotropy at the molecular level to obtain appropriate functions. 

On the basis of comparison of the AFM images between the SWNT/MEHPPV composites and the SWNT in the absence and presence of NaHC03, the magnetic orientation of SWNT/MEHPPV composites can most likely be ascribed to the anisotropy in susceptibilities of the SWNTs. 

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