Carbon Nanotubes/Fullerenes
Nanomaterials: Carbon Nanotubes | Ceramics | Quantum Dots | Metals
Smart Grids can provide a range of useful information for the manufacturing and
application of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes including:
- Manufacturing quality control
- Process/synthesis development
- Surface functionalization/dispersion.
When single wall nanotubes are required, Smart Grids can validate the purity of the SWCNTs. As synthesized, carbon nanotubes are hydrophobic and do not lend themselves to wetting of traditional TEM grid surfaces. Our hydrophobic Smart Grids allow deposition from organic solvents and minimize drying effects. When dispersed in other media, Smart Grids can elimiate the guess work for the relative state of aggregation of the materials. Carbon nanotubes and fullerenes that have been functionalized with other substituents may require other surfaces to enhance compatibility.
Applications for CNTs and fullerenes that can benefit from the use of Smart Grids include:
- Field emmitters/display technology
- EMI/RFI shielding
- Antistatic materials
- Mechanical reinforcement/strength
- Energy Storage
- Medical/environmental sensing and Diagnostics
- Molecular electronics
- Heat dissipation/heat sinks
Carbon nanotubes and other fullerenes have revolutionized a wide range of industries over the past 20 years due to their extraordinary electrical and thermal conductivity and mechanical properties. They are polymers of pure carbon and can be reacted and manipulated using the rich chemistry of carbon. Their intrinsic chemical character provides an opportunity to modify the structure and to optimise solubility and dispersion. However, when utilized in many applications, their properties are most often dominated by impurities, defects, poor dispersion/solubility, and inability to effectively couple with complimentary materials/structures.