Experimental demonstration of meso-scale carbon nanotube self-assembled tube structures

✍ Scribed by Charles P. Marsh; Peter B. Stynoski; Thomas A. Carlson; Clint Arnett; Brad Newcomb; Michael S. Strano; Charles R. Welch

• Book ID: 104009435
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 812 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-6223
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbon.2010.11.040

✦ Synopsis

In addition to numerous other properties of interest, carbon nanotubes (CNT) promise to form a basis for new materials of extraordinary strength owing mainly to the very high carbon-carbon bond energies and their unique tubular structure at the molecular scale.

In the area of materials development, the guiding concept of bio-inspired hierarchical structures combined with controlled fabrication at multiple scales has the potential to result in substantially improved mechanical performance. Here we show examples of a multiple-scale self-assembled tube structure, which are themselves composed of multiwall CNTs, while also demonstrating some important aspects of their nucleation and growth. These hierarchical and self-assembled objects strongly indicate the feasibility of controlled synthesis of macroscopic CNT structures and CNT-reinforced materials for use in various engineering applications. These applications could encompass the areas of structures, thermal transfer, electronics, fluid dynamics, and micro-fluidics.