Chemistry and applications of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess outstanding physical properties, but in order to fully realize the promise of this material, chemistry is required to process the CNTs into a form that is useful for applications. In the present paper I will discuss our work on the chemistry of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), and the opportunities that this has afforded in the preparation of thin films and bulk materials for application in sensors, near-IR detectors and composites. Time permitting, recent results of the applications of this approach to graphite and graphene will be presented.