Ultrathin films of functionalised single-walled carbon nanotubes: a potential bio-sensing platform

The Langmuir monolayer is a special class of lyotropic liquid crystalline system wherein phase transition essentially depends on surface density, temperature and ion-content in the aqueous medium. The variety of surface phases can be transferred onto devices by the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique. The Langmuir monolayer of pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) exhibited gas and liquid-like phases. The LB film of SWCNTs shows target surface pressure dependent interesting morphologies. The methane gas sensing using parallel alignment of SWCNTs was found to be better than that of randomly oriented SWCNTs. The SWCNTs can be functionalised chemically to enhance the ease of film processability and affinity towards analytes. These are essential parameters for the development of a sensor. In this article, we present our work on Langmuir monolayer and LB films of octadecylamine functionalised SWCNTs (ODACNTs) and its sensing application towards bio-analytes, e.g. L-aspartic acid and bovine serum albumin. The sensing performance of LB film of ODACNTs was compared with that of spin-coated films of ODACNTs. The sensing performance of LB films of ODACNTs indicated a potential platform for bio-sensing application.