Selective aggregation of single-walled carbon nanotubes using the large optical field gradient of a focused laser beam.

We demonstrate the selective aggregation of single-walled carbon nanotubes by photon forces, using the large optical field gradient of a laser focused through a high numerical aperture objective lens. The nanotubes, dispersed in an aqueous solution with a surfactant, are detected via Raman scattering from the confocal volume of the optical trap. By using a visible-light laser for both trapping and detection, the dynamics of the radial breathing mode signal taken at short intervals shows an increase of a single breathing mode over time, indicating the increase in the density of only one species of tube in the focal volume. This result represents a significant step toward the development of techniques for the arbitrary manipulation and sorting of nanotubes by optical fields.