Gravitation-dependent, thermally-induced self-diffraction in carbon nanotube solutions

Abstract

We report the observation of thermally-induced self-diffraction in carbon nanotube (CNT) solutions under the influence of the gravity. We present a theoretical model in which CNTs are assumed to obey the Boltzmman distribution law. Under the approximations of small temperature rise and a very narrow distribution of CNT masses, the model simulation is consistent with the data measured at low laser powers. An immediate application of such a gravitation-dependent characteristic is the optical measurement for molecular weights of CNTs. ©2006 Optical Society of America.