The energetics of topological defects (TDs) in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their kinetic healing during the catalytic growth are explored theoretically. Our study indicates that, with the assistance of a metal catalyst, TDs formed during the addition of C atoms can be efficiently healed at the CNT-catalyst interface. Theoretically, a TD-free CNT wall with 10(8)-10(11) carbon atoms is achievable...

The carbon nanotube (CNT) industry is expanding rapidly, yet little is known about the potential environmental impacts of CNT manufacture. Here, we evaluate the effluent composition of a representative multiwalled CNT synthesis by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in order to provide data needed to design strategies for mitigating any unacceptable emissions. During thermal pretreatment ...

A simple but effective method has been developed to controllably extract carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from their vertically aligned arrays on growth substrates. The intrinsic micron-scale roughness of the CNT surface enables the protruding nanotubes to make good contact with an adhesive layer which can then remove them from the array on the growth substrate. This approach allows us to manage and tai...

PURPOSE Recently, we showed that intratumoral delivery of low-dose, immunostimulatory CpG oligodeoxynucleotides conjugated with carbon nanotubes (CNT-CpG) was more effective than free CpG and not only eradicated intracranial (i.c.) gliomas but also induced antitumor immunity that protected mice from subsequent i.c. or systemic tumor rechallenge. Here, we examined whether the same "intracerebral...

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are ideal scaffolds to design and architect high-perform‐ ance composites at high CNT volume fractions. In these composites, the CNT align‐ ment determines the level of aggregation and the structure morphology, and thus the load transfer efficiency between neighboring CNTs. Here, we discuss two major solutions to produce high-volume fraction CNT composites, namely the la...

The skins of many plants and animals have intricate microscale surface features that give rise to properties such as directed water repellency and adhesion, camouflage, and resistance to fouling. However, engineered mimicry of these designs has been restrained by the limited capabilities of top-down fabrication processes. Here we demonstrate a new technique for scalable manufacturing of freefor...

The mechanism of the one-order-of-magnitude increase in the density of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) achieved by a recently developed thermal chemical vapor deposition process was studied using synchrotron radiation spectroscopic techniques. In the developed process, a Ti film is used as the underlayer for an Fe catalyst film. A characteristic point of this process is that C2H2 fee...

Introduction Creating three-dimensional patterned nanoarchitectures on the surface of a substrate is an essential step towards the investigations on their novel properties and the developments of nanomaterials and nanodevices at different length scales. Patterned nano-architectures composed of one-dimensional (1D) nanowires/nanotubes on two-dimensional substrates always exhibit tailored mechani...

A thriving field in nanotechnology is to develop synergetic functions of nanomaterials by taking full advantages of unique properties of each component. In this context, combining TiO2 nanocrystals and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) offers enhanced photosensitivity and improved photocatalytic efficiency, which is key to achieving sustainable energy and preventing environmental pollution. Hence, it has...

Physical vapor deposited nickel catalyst layers of 10, 50, 100, 200, 350, and 500  were granulated using hydrogen plasma for varying times to determine an effective carbon nanotube (CNT) growth process using microwave plasma enhanced CVD (MPECVD). Nickel was deposited via sputtering or evaporation. The catalyst granule size, density, and resulting CNTs were analyzed. Sputtered nickel of 50  w...