A method was developed for the non-destructive purification of single-walled carbon nanotubes, using classical coordination chemistry to remove the metal catalyst. In preliminary tests, the conductivity of films based upon the resultant single-walled carbon nanotubes was markedly better than that of films prepared from single-walled carbon nanotubes purified by treatment with oxidizing acid solutions.

Minimizing Purification-Induced Defects in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Gives Films with Improved Conductivity. Y.Wang, L.Huang, Y.Liu, D.Wei, H.Zhang, H.Kajiura, Y.Li: Nano Research, 2009, 2[11], 865-71