Patent ID: 7666915

Claim:
A method for manufacturing a carbon nanomaterial dispersion, comprising, (i) providing a carbon nanomaterial comprising a plurality of multi-walled, graphitic carbon nanospheres that have been separated from amorphous carbon, wherein the plurality of carbon nanospheres are at least partially agglomerated into a plurality of clusters of carbon nanospheres; (ii) forming a solution comprised of a polar solvent and an organic surface modifying agent, wherein the surface modifying agent is selected from the group consisting of glucose, glycolic acid, glycine, ascorbic acid, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, and combinations thereof; (iii) mixing the carbon nanomaterial with the solution; and (iv) ultrasonicating the solution containing the polar solvent, organic surface modifying agent, and carbon nanomaterial to at least partially disrupt the clusters of carbon nanospheres to yield carbon nanospheres suspended in the solution.