Creation and Characterization of Carbon Nanotube Foams and Related Materials

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Investigators

Abstract

The main research goal of this proposal is to fabricate mesoscale structures of organized units of carbon nanotubes and then utilize the impact of capillarity forces, arising from the infiltration and subsequent evaporation of solvents from the interstices of these densely packed nanotube units, to reconstitute novel nanotube architectures such as condensed nanotube fibers and two dimensional cellular foams. The fundamental understanding of capillarity effects in dense arrays of nanotubes will be studied. The effect of surface modification of nanotubes, for example, via low temperature plasma etching, on the wetting characteristics of nanotubes will be understood. The basic mechanisms of pattern formation in organized nanotube units will be studied to tailor-make patterns of known cellular structures from nanotubes prefabricated on planar substrates. The condensed nanotube structures in the form of foams and fibers will be evaluated structurally and tested for mechanical and electrical properties. The project will lead to a fundamental understanding of how strong capillary forces and interfacial interactions between nanoscale building blocks can be used to assemble them into various shapes and architectures. The ability to shape organized nanotube assemblies into unique shapes, such as two-dimensional foams, and periodicities will allow us to fabricate and evaluate new nanotube based structures for a wide range of applications such as reinforcements in polymer composites, novel nanostructured elastic membranes, damping microstructures and thermal conduits.