Buckypaper
Buckypaper consists of an aggregated form of carbon nanotubes . The diameter of the nanotubes required for production is around 1/50000 the diameter of a human hair. Buckypaper was originally made to improve the use of nanotubes. In 2008 it was found that these aggregates could theoretically also be used as building material for aircraft, body armor and electronics.
background
Buckypaper is a macroscopic physical state of carbon nanotubes. The idea for making bucky paper came to researcher Harold Kroto and researchers at Rice University while trying to create the conditions that exist inside a star when elemental carbon is formed. It owes its name to the fullerenes , more precisely the C 60 fullerene (an allotrope of carbon with similar bonds, which is called "buckyball" in honor of R. Buckminster Fuller ). Richard Smalley , Sir Harold Kroto and Robert Curl shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 thanks to the discovery of fullerenes. Her discoveries in the field of carbon nanotubes revolutionized the field of chemistry and materials science.
synthesis
The generally accepted method of making such thin films of carbon nanotubes involves the use of nonionic surfactants , such as octoxinol-9 , and sodium lauryl sulfate , which improves the dispersion in liquid solution. These suspensions can then be membrane-filtered under positive or negative pressure in order to obtain uniform surfaces. The interactions of the van der Waals forces of the surface with the surfactant can be very strong. It is therefore not possible to say with certainty whether the surfactant is completely removed during the forming process. An effective solution to this problem is washing the sample with methanol , but the methanol makes the surface of the bucky paper rough and brittle. It has also been found that Octoxinol-9 is flammable at a relatively low concentration in the air.
In order to avoid the problems caused by surfactants, another synthetic route was found. This includes a frit compression that works without surfactants or surface changes. The dimensions can be determined by the number and mass of the carbon nanotubes used. However, the products of this synthetic route are considerably thicker than those that were synthesized under the influence of surfactants. Thicknesses of 120 μm to 650 μm have already been produced. Although there is no nomenclature system for different thicknesses of fabrics, samples that are thicker than 500 μm are called Buckydisc . If the thickness is beyond 5 mm, it is called a bucky line . Frit compression allows for fast production of bucky paper, buckydiscs and bucky lines and allows control over the two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometry.
The synthesis of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in a row is also used during carbon nanotube synthesis via the domino effect . In this process, “forests” of multi-walled carbon nanotubes are flattened in one direction by compressing their vertical orientation into the horizontal plane. This leads to ultra-pure buckypaper, which does not need any further finishing. For comparison, when bucky paper was made from multi-walled carbon nanotubes compressed under a ton of pressure, every addition of solvents led to an immediate swelling of the film until it split up again into its individual molecules. It seems that the synthetic method, which involves exposing carbon nanotubes to high pressure, is not suitable for making stable bucky paper.
properties
At a tenth the mass of iron, bucky paper is still around 500 times stronger when the individual sheets are stacked on top of one another to form stacks. It conducts heat better than brass or steel and can have electrical conductivity like copper or silicon.
application areas
The following list shows previously researched theoretical areas of application for bucky paper:
- When exposed to an electrical charge, bucky paper could be used to illuminate computer and television screens. It would be more energy efficient, lighter and could provide more constant illuminance than the cathode ray tubes previously used and the technology used in current liquid crystal displays .
- Because carbon nanotubes have the greatest thermal conductivity , bucky paper could help develop thermal grease that would allow computers and other electronic devices to dissipate heat better than has been possible until now. This in turn could lead to major advances in electronic miniaturization.
- Since carbon nanotubes have an unusually high electrical conductivity, a film of buckypaper could be attached to the outer shell of an aircraft. Then if it were struck by lightning, it would be redirected around the aircraft without causing damage.
- These films could also protect aircraft electronic circuits and devices from electromagnetic interference that could damage equipment. Such films can also help to shield the electromagnetic signatures of military aircraft, which can be detected by radar.
- Bucky paper could also act as a filter to trap microparticles in air or liquids. Since the nanotubes contained are insoluble and can be equipped with a wide range of functional groups, they can be used to selectively remove components or serve as detectors.
- If it can be produced in sufficient quantities and at an economically reasonable price, buckypaper could be used as an effective armor.
- Bucky paper can also be used to grow biological tissue, such as nerve cells. It can be electrified to stimulate the growth of a certain type of cell.
- The Poisson's ratio of the buckypaper can be adjusted in a controlled manner and thus leads to an auxetic behavior that can be used to produce artificial muscles.
Web links
- FSU researcher's "buckypaper" is stronger than steel at a fraction of the weight
- Very informative article with all you need to know on buckypaper
- Buckypaper - Nanotubes on Steroids . (Pictures from bucky paper and an interview with Frank Allen, Operations Director of the High-Performance Materials Institute at Florida State University).
- Buckypaper page at the High-Performance Materials Institute
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Future planes, cars may be made of 'buckypaper' . Yahoo! Tech News. October 17, 2008. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
- ↑ Marc in het Panhuis, Carolina Salvador-Morales, Edward Franklin, Gordon Chambers, Antonio Fonseca, Janos B. Nagy, Werner J. Blau, Andrew I. Minetta: Characterization of an Interaction between Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes and an Enzyme . In: Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology . tape 3 , 2003, p. 209-213 .
- ↑ Jing Sun, Lian Gao: Development of a dispersion process for carbon nanotubes in ceramic matrix by heterocoagulation . In: Carbon . tape 41 , no. 5 , 2003, p. 1063-1068 , doi : 10.1016 / S0008-6223 (02) 00441-4 .
- ↑ U. Vohrer, I. Kolaric, MH Haque, S. Roth, U. Detlaff-Weglikowska: Carbon nanotube sheets for the use as artificial muscles . In: Carbon . tape 42 , no. 5-6 , 2004, pp. 1159-1164 , doi : 10.1016 / j.carbon.2003.12.044 .
- ↑ JB Cornett, GD Shockman: Cellular lysis of Streptococcus faecalis induced with triton X-100. In: J. Bacteriol. tape 135 , no. 1 , 1978, p. 153-160 , PMC 224794 (free full text).
- ^ Raymond LD Whitby, Takahiro Fukuda, Toru Maekawa, Stuart L. James, Sergey V. Mikhalovsky: Geometric control and tuneable pore size distribution of buckypaper and buckydiscs . In: Carbon . tape 46 , no. 6 , April 2008, p. 949-956 , doi : 10.1016 / j.carbon.2008.02.028 .
- ↑ D. Wang, P. Song, C. Liu, W. Wu, S. Fan: Highly oriented carbon nanotube papers made of aligned carbon nanotubes . In: Nanotechnology . tape 19 , no. 7 , 2008, p. 75609-75609 , doi : 10.1088 / 0957-4484 / 19/7/075609 .
- ^ RLD Whitby: From carbon nanotubes to buckycolumns. 5th International Symposium on Bioscience and Nanotechnology, Kawagoe, Japan, November 2007.
