Items Tagged With Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are intriguing new materials which have been highly touted for their exceptional mechanical, thermal, optical and electrical properties. Researchers worldwide are striving to apply these nanostructures in electronics, high-resolution displays, high-strength composites and biosensors. A fundamental problem relating to their synthesis, however, has limited their widespread use.

Carbon nanotubes are intriguing new materials which have been highly touted for their exceptional mechanical, thermal, optical and electrical properties. Researchers worldwide are striving to apply these nanostructures in electronics, high-resolution displays, high-strength composites and biosensors. A fundamental problem relating to their synthesis, however, has limited their widespread use.

Rice University scientists have developed the first method for sorting semiconducting carbon nanotubes based on their size, a long-awaited development that could form the basis of a nanotube purification system capable of producing the necessary feedstocks for nano-circuits, therapeutic agents, next-generation power cables and more.

A team of researchers from Arizona State University and Motorola Labs, the applied research arm of Motorola Inc., has developed sensors based on carbon nanotubes, microscopically small structures that posses excellent electronic properties. In early tests, the new devices detected the presence of heavy metal ions in water down to parts per trillion levels.

In an exciting advance in nanotechnology imaging, Rice University scientists have discovered a way to use standard optical microscopes and video cameras to film individual carbon nanotubes. The movies show that nanotubes can be “plucked” by individual molecules of water and made to bend like guitar strings.