How to remove the influence of trace water from the absorption spectra of SWNTs dispersed in ionic liquids

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) can be efficiently dispersed in the imidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs), at relatively high concentration, with their intrinsic structure and properties retained. Due to the hygroscopicity of the ILs, water bands may be introduced in the absorption spectra of IL-dispersed SWNTs and cause problems in spectral deconvolution and further analysis. In order to remove this influence, a quantitative characterization of the trace water in [BMIM](+)[PF(6)](−) and [BMIM](+)[BF(4)](−) was carried out by means of UV–vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy. A simple yet effective method involving spectral subtraction of the water bands was utilized, and almost no difference was found between the spectra of the dry IL-dispersed SWNT samples treated under vacuum for 10 hours and the spectra of the untreated samples with subtraction of the pure water spectrum. This result makes it more convenient to characterize SWNTs with absorption spectra in the IL-dispersion system, even in the presence of trace amount of water.