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We have demonstrated that nanocarbon materials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene have an intrinsically hydrophilic nature. Addition of liquid hydrocarbons or polycyclic aromatic compounds, which are the common side-products of nanocarbon syntheses, turned the otherwise hydrophilic CNT films hydrophobic. The very small amount needed to cause this effect was not discernable by SEM or Raman spectroscopy and also it could be easily overlooked by other methods of analysis. Upon simple and rapid thermal desorption of these species we were able to fully recover the water affinity in these CNT networks. Without using any oxidizing agents the material remains hydrophilic for weeks having water contact angle of about 35°. The results pave the way towards implementation of low-dimensional nanostructures in the real life without disrupting their inherent properties. ; The Silesian University of Technology (Grant Agreement - 04/020/ RGJ18/0057). National Science Center, Poland (Grant Agreement - UMO-2015/19/P/ST5/03799, UMO-2015/19/N/ST8/02184). The European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement - 665778).

We have demonstrated that large diameter (1.8±0.4 nm) carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be separated by means of the aqueous two phase extraction (ATPE). This rapid and convenient tool has enabled us to isolate fractions of particular CNT diameter distribution. We have shown how a range of parameters can be used to fine tune the characteristics of the isolated material. What is very interesting, by varying the pH of the medium, we have suppressed the extraction of low diameter CNTs and only large diameter CNTs were obtained. A number of other factors such as selected surfactant concentration steps, temperature or amount of starting CNT material have been found to have a significant effect on the end result of the CNT differentiation. The findings have provided us with more insight regarding the underlying mechanics of ATPE for processing polydisperse CNT mixtures. ; The Silesian University of Technology (Grant Agreement - 04/020/RGJ18/0057). National Science Center, Poland (Grant Agreement - UMO-2015/19/P/ST5/03799). The European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement - 665778).