Modifying the morphology and properties of aligned CNT foams through secondary CNT growth.

In this work, we report for the first time, growth of secondary carbon nanotubes (CNTs) throughout a three-dimensional assembly of CNTs. The assembly of nanotubes was in the form of aligned CNT/carbon (ACNT/C) foams. These low-density CNT foams were conformally coated with an alumina buffer layer using atomic layer deposition.

Photoluminescence Mechanism and Photocatalytic Activity of Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials Formed by Sequential Vapor Infiltration.

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials formed by sequential vapor infiltration (SVI) of trimethylaluminum into polyester fibers are demonstrated, and the photoluminescence of the fibers is evaluated using a combined UV-vis and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy approach. The optical activity of the modified fibers depends on infiltration thermal processing conditions and is attributed to the reaction mechanisms taking place at different temperatures. At low temperatures a single excitation band and dual emission bands are observed, while, at high temperatures, two distinct absorption bands and one emission band are observed, suggesting that the physical and chemical structure of the resulting hybrid material depends on the SVI temperature.

Ultralight Interconnected Metal Oxide Nanotube Networks.

Record-breaking ultralow density aluminum oxide structures are prepared using a novel templating technique. The alumina structures are unique in that they are comprised by highly aligned and interconnected nanotubes yielding anisotropic behavior. Large-scale network structures with complex form-factors can easily be made using this technique.

Ultralight anisotropic foams from layered aligned carbon nanotube sheets.

In this work, we present large scale, ultralight aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) structures which have densities an order of magnitude lower than CNT arrays, have tunable properties and exhibit resiliency after compression. By stacking aligned sheets of carbon nanotubes and then infiltrating with a pyrolytic carbon (PyC), resilient foam-like materials were produced that exhibited complete recovery from 90% compressive strain. With density as low as 3.

High performance carbon nanotube--polymer nanofiber hybrid fabrics.

Stable nanoscale hybrid fabrics containing both polymer nanofibers and separate and distinct carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are highly desirable but very challenging to produce. Here, we report the first instance of such a hybrid fabric, which can be easily tailored to contain 0-100% millimeter long CNTs. The novel CNT - polymer hybrid nonwoven fabrics were created by simultaneously electrospinning nanofibers onto aligned CNT sheets which were drawn and collected on a grounded, rotating mandrel.

Conformal atomic layer deposition of alumina on millimeter tall, vertically-aligned carbon nanotube arrays.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be used to coat high aspect ratio and high surface area substrates with conformal and precisely controlled thin films. Vertically aligned arrays of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with lengths up to 1.5 mm were conformally coated with alumina from base to tip.

Copper-encapsulated vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays.

A new procedure is described for the fabrication of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) that are decorated, and even completely encapsulated, by a dense network of copper nanoparticles. The process involves the conformal deposition of pyrolytic carbon (Py-C) to stabilize the aligned carbon-nanotube structure during processing. The stabilized arrays are mildly functionalized using oxygen plasma treatment to improve wettability, and they are then infiltrated with an aqueous, supersaturated Cu salt solution.

Aligned carbon nanotube-silicon sheets: a novel nano-architecture for flexible lithium ion battery electrodes.

Aligned carbon nanotube sheets provide an engineered scaffold for the deposition of a silicon active material for lithium ion battery anodes. The sheets are low-density, allowing uniform deposition of silicon thin films while the alignment allows unconstrained volumetric expansion of the silicon, facilitating stable cycling performance. The flat sheet morphology is desirable for battery construction.

Fabrication and characterization of electrospun chitosan nanofibers formed via templating with polyethylene oxide.

Chitosan is an abundantly common, naturally occurring, polysaccharide biopolymer. Its biocompatible, biodegradable, and antimicrobial properties have led to significant research toward biological applications such as drug delivery, artificial tissue scaffolds for functional tissue engineering, and wound-healing dressings. For applications such as tissue scaffolding, formation of highly porous mats of nanometer-sized fibers, such as those fabricated via electrospinning, may be quite important.