Properties of a composite material based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and an ionic liquid

A solid-phase composite material based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) has been synthesized. It has been found using infrared spectroscopy that vibrational modes of the ionic liquid are shifted by 4–12 cm$^{-1}$ toward lower energies with respect to those observed in the initial fluid due to the interaction of ionic liquid molecules with the nanotubes. Electron microscopy has revealed that, in the composite, the ionic liquid is present on the surface of nanotubes and partially inside them. It has been shown that the degree of extraction of lanthanides from aqueous solutions with the use of the synthesized composite increases with increasing content of the ionic liquid in it.