What Makes Flexiphene Unique?

Flexiphene’s key differentiator is its patented, tunable surfactant nanosheets. Standard surfactants are small molecules — Flexiphene is a two-dimensional graphene-based sheet with both hydrophilic edges and hydrophobic basal plane regions. This size-dependent amphiphilicity allows Flexiphene to stabilize interfaces that small-molecule surfactants cannot, and the stability and performance of the dispersion can be tuned by adjusting three parameters: solution pH, the size of the surfactant sheet, and the degree of chemical reduction.

The result is a surfactant that provides more uniform dispersions and more precise control over formulations than conventional small-molecule surfactants — without introducing metallic or polymer contamination into the final product.

How Flexiphene Works

Property	Detail
Base Material	Graphene oxide (functionalized graphene nanosheet)
Amphiphilicity	Hydrophilic edges / hydrophobic basal plane
Tuning Parameters	pH, sheet size, degree of reduction
Compatible Nanomaterials	CNTs, graphene nanoplatelets, nanowires, nanoparticles
Compatible Media	Water, organic solvents, polymer matrices
Patent	US 10,049,783 (second patent pending)
Supplier	CTI Materials / Cheap Tubes (exclusive)

Flexiphene Applications

Nanomaterial Dispersions

The primary application for Flexiphene is achieving stable, uniform dispersions of difficult-to-disperse nanomaterials. Carbon nanotubes have extremely high surface energy and tend to form tight bundles that resist separation even under aggressive sonication. Flexiphene sheets adsorb onto CNT surfaces and prevent re-agglomeration through steric and electrostatic stabilization — enabling stable aqueous and solvent dispersions at concentrations that would be impractical with small-molecule surfactants.

Emulsions

Flexiphene functions as a Pickering emulsifier — stabilizing oil/water interfaces using solid particles rather than molecular surfactants. Because Flexiphene sheets are large enough to irreversibly adsorb to the interface, Flexiphene-stabilized emulsions are significantly more stable than those produced with conventional surfactants. This is especially useful for polymer-based CNT or graphene formulations where long-term emulsion stability is required.

Conductive Films and Electrodes

Upon thermal or chemical reduction, Flexiphene converts from an insulating graphene oxide to a conductive reduced graphene oxide — while retaining its surfactant function. This means Flexiphene-dispersed CNT films can be made conductive without a separate post-processing step to remove the surfactant (which is required with conventional surfactants like SDS or Triton X-100, and which typically damages the CNT network). The resulting all-carbon conductive films have high conductivity and surface area suitable for electrode applications.

All-Carbon Nanocomposites

Combining CNTs with Flexiphene produces all-carbon composite structures where the graphene-based surfactant sheet becomes a functional matrix component rather than a processing aid to be removed. These CNT/graphene nanocomposites overcome re-agglomeration challenges, offering high electrical conductivity and large surface area for energy storage, EMI shielding, and structural reinforcement applications — without the laborious preparation methods required for other hybrid nanomaterial systems.

Membranes and Filters

Flexiphene’s ability to form ordered liquid crystal phases at high concentration allows it to be processed into oriented membranes with controllable pore structure. CNT/Flexiphene composite membranes show selective transport properties useful for gas separation, water purification, and ion exchange applications.

Sensors

The tunability of Flexiphene’s reduction state — from insulating to conductive — makes Flexiphene-based films responsive to chemical and electrochemical stimuli. Functionalized Flexiphene/CNT composites have demonstrated sensitivity to gases, pH, and specific analytes in electrochemical biosensor configurations.

Flexiphene Product Forms

Cheap Tubes offers Flexiphene in four forms to match different application workflows. Surfactant solutions are the base product — Flexiphene dissolved in aqueous or solvent medium, ready to use as a dispersant. Aqueous nanomaterial emulsions are pre-made dispersions of CNTs or graphene in water using Flexiphene as the stabilizer, delivered ready to use. Solvent-based nanomaterial emulsions serve the same purpose in organic solvent systems. Flexiphene SWCNTs paper is a freestanding all-carbon film of single-walled CNTs stabilized with Flexiphene, useful as an electrode or current collector in energy storage devices.

For technical questions, application development support, or custom formulations, contact us or book a call to discuss your specific requirements. Flexiphene is exclusive to Cheap Tubes.