A clean and simple wet chemical process using dilute aqueous ozone (O
3) solution with or without ultrasound (US) was used to functionalize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Both O
3 and O
3/US treatments greatly increased the stability of SWCNTs in water. Results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the surface oxygen to carbon atomic ratio increased by more than 600%after 72 h of O
3 treatment. Moreover, the effective particle size of SWCNTs was reduced from the initial 4400 to
300 and
150 nm, after 24 h of O
3 and O
3/US treatment, respectively. The zeta potential of treated SWCNTs decreased from 3.0 to −35.0 mV (at pH 4) after 2 h of treatment with both O
3 and O
3/US. Based on the XPS results, the oxidation pathway was proposed: at the onset of the oxidation reaction, the C
C double bond was first converted to
C
OH which was then oxidized to
C
O and O
C
OH concurrently. Oxidation reactions could be described well with first order expressions. Treatment time controlled the extent of surface oxidation and subsequently the stability and dispersion of SWCNTs in water.