The invention has for its object to provide an aqueous solution for structural separation capable of acting on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having a specific structure thereby separating them with high accuracy, a separation and recovery method capable of allowing the aqueous solution to act on CNTs having a specific structure thereby separating and recovering them, and CNTs obtained by the separation and recovery method. According to the invention, it is possible to separate CNTs having a specific structure with high accuracy by solubilizing lithocholic acid or a lithocolic acid isomer that has high hydrophobicity and is insoluble in water by itself, and a carbon nanotube obtained by using an aqueous solution containing lithocholic acid or a lithocholic acid isomer, each solubilized, as an aqueous solution for structural separation of CNTs.

The invention has for its object to provide an aqueous solution for structural separation capable of acting on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) having a specific structure thereby separating them with high accuracy, a separation and recovery method capable of allowing the aqueous solution to act on CNTs having a specific structure thereby separating and recovering them, and CNTs obtained by the separation and recovery method. According to the invention, it is possible to separate CNTs having a specific structure with high accuracy by solubilizing lithocholic acid or a lithocolic acid isomer that has high hydrophobicity and is insoluble in water by itself, and a carbon nanotube obtained by using an aqueous solution containing lithocholic acid or a lithocholic acid isomer, each solubilized, as an aqueous solution for structural separation of CNTs.

A nanocarbon separation device includes a separation tank which is configured to accommodate a dispersion liquid including a nanocarbon, a first electrode that is provided at an upper part in the separation tank, a second electrode that is provided at a lower part in the separation tank, and a partition member that is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode in the separation tank, and the partition member partitions the separation tank into a plurality of regions.

A nanocarbon separation device includes a separation tank which is configured to accommodate a dispersion liquid including a nanocarbon, a first electrode that is provided at an upper part in the separation tank, a second electrode that is provided at a lower part in the separation tank, and a partition member that is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode in the separation tank, and the partition member partitions the separation tank into a plurality of regions.

A nanocarbon separation device of the present invention includes a separation tank which is configured to accommodate a dispersion liquid including a nanocarbon, a first electrode that is provided at an upper part in the separation tank, a second electrode that is provided at a lower part in the separation tank, and a porous structure that is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode in the separation tank.

A nanocarbon separation device of the present invention includes a separation tank which is configured to accommodate a dispersion liquid including a nanocarbon, a first electrode that is provided at an upper part in the separation tank, a second electrode that is provided at a lower part in the separation tank, and a porous structure that is provided between the first electrode and the second electrode in the separation tank.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bolometer having a high TCR value and a low resistance, and a method for manufacturing the infrared sensor. One aspect of the present embodiment relates to a bolometer comprising: a substrate; a first electrode on the substrate; a second electrode spaced from the first electrode on the substrate; and a carbon nanotube layer electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the carbon nanotube layer comprises 90% by mass or more of semiconducting carbon nanotubes based on the total amount of carbon nanotubes, and the carbon nanotube layer has an alignment satisfying: fx/fy≥2 where an integrated value f of amplitudes of frequencies from −1 μm.sup.−1 to +1 μm.sup.−1 in one direction from the center is calculated in an image obtained by performing two-dimensional fast Fourier transform processing on an SEM image of the carbon nanotube layer, and an integrated value for a direction x in which the integrated value f becomes maximum is defined as fx and an integrated value for a direction y perpendicular to the direction x is defined as fy.

The object of the present invention is to provide a production method and a production apparatus for a thin film of aligned carbon nanotubes. The present invention relates to a production method for an aligned carbon nanotube film having a film thickness of less than 1000 nm, including a step of causing a part of a dispersion solvent liquid of a carbon nanotube dispersion liquid to permeate to a lower surface side of a filter paper while causing the carbon nanotube dispersion liquid to flow in one direction on an upper surface of the filter paper, and a production apparatus that can be used for said method.

In an infrared (IR) scene projector device or thermal emission array comprising a plurality of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes disposed proximate to a thermally conductive substrate, the plurality of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may be (i) arranged as in FIGS. 2 and 4B as a sparsely populated forest, with large gaps between the CNTs; or (ii) arranged as in FIGS. 3 and 4C as patches (clusters) of CNTs separated by gaps; or (iii) arranged as a combination of clusters separated by gaps wherein each cluster comprises a sparsely populated forest of CNTs.

In the present invention, only low-growth carbon nanotubes are selectively separated among solid particles discharged during a reaction and then re-input to a reactor, so that it is possible to improve the quality of a carbon nanotube product to be produced and the productivity of a carbon nanotube production process.