08-16-2017, 10:59 PM
Most of the research so far has focused on small-scale applications. But now, a team of researchers at Rice University has created carbon nanotubes that are hundreds of meters long, but only 50 micrometers thick. Researchers say there is no limit to how long nanotubes can be made, opening doors to large-scale applications, including the use of nanotubes as electrical transmission lines and as a basis for structural materials.
The Rice project began in 2001, led by Nobel Prize winner Richard Smalley. After years of research into solution processing techniques, scientists discovered that a super acid called chlorosulfonic acid could spontaneously dissolve carbon nanotubes at concentrations 1,000 times higher than any other solvent. The method can produce well-aligned large-scale carbon nanotubes, in which nanotubes can be fired from a shower-like nozzle. Researchers have published details of the acid-processing technique in a recent issue of Nature Nanotechnology.
Since carbon nanotubes are very conductive, researchers are currently working on a project for the manufacture of electric transmission lines. "Metal nanotubes conduct electricity better than copper, are lighter and fail less frequently," said Rice's chemical engineering professor Matteo Pasquali.
To make transmission lines, researchers will need extremely large amounts of metallic nanotubes. Currently, there are no good methods that can make large batches of nanotubes containing all metallic nanotubes without any semiconductor nanotubes. However, some recent research in this area has been promising, and researchers predict that a breakthrough could occur in the near future.
The Rice project began in 2001, led by Nobel Prize winner Richard Smalley. After years of research into solution processing techniques, scientists discovered that a super acid called chlorosulfonic acid could spontaneously dissolve carbon nanotubes at concentrations 1,000 times higher than any other solvent. The method can produce well-aligned large-scale carbon nanotubes, in which nanotubes can be fired from a shower-like nozzle. Researchers have published details of the acid-processing technique in a recent issue of Nature Nanotechnology.
Since carbon nanotubes are very conductive, researchers are currently working on a project for the manufacture of electric transmission lines. "Metal nanotubes conduct electricity better than copper, are lighter and fail less frequently," said Rice's chemical engineering professor Matteo Pasquali.
To make transmission lines, researchers will need extremely large amounts of metallic nanotubes. Currently, there are no good methods that can make large batches of nanotubes containing all metallic nanotubes without any semiconductor nanotubes. However, some recent research in this area has been promising, and researchers predict that a breakthrough could occur in the near future.
