摘要

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were purified by the method of heat treating, and stable homogeneous suspensions of heat-treated CNFs were prepared by using methylcellulose (MC) as a surfactant. The heat-treated CNFs were characterized by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), and the sonication-driven dispersion of CNFs in aqueous solution was investigated by measuring ultraviolet absorbency (UV absorbency), zeta potential, adsorption isotherm of MC on CNFs and surface tension of CNF suspensions. In these CNF suspensions, the zeta potentials of CNFs progressively increase with increasing MC concentration, and change from -15.4-0 mV. The surface tension of CNF suspensions decrease from 38.87 mN/m to 36.54 mN/m. The adsorption isotherm of MC on CNFs shows an adsorption platform (namely "L" style), and the adsorption isotherm reaches the saturation plateau at MC concentration of about 0.4 g/L. All results show that the optimum concentration ratio of MC to CNFs is 2:1 for dispersion.