In this Account, we summarize some of our recent studies on the materials properties of the carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The focus is on single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). We describe experiments on synthesis of SWNTs with controlled molecular structures and assembly of functional macroscopic structures. In addition, we present results on the electron field emission properties of macroscopic CNT...

Polypyrrole (PPy) nanotubes with highly uniform surface and tunable wall thickness were fabricated by one-step vapor deposition polymerization (VDP) using anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) template membranes, and transformed into carbon nanotubes through a carbonization process.

We have obtained atomically resolved STM images of individual single-wall carbon nanotubes. The interpretation of the apparent lattice is nontrivial. In most cases we observe a triangular arrangement instead of the expected hexagonal carbon lattice. However, the chirality of the nanotubes can be unambiguously determined from the images, which is an important result because the electronic proper...

Polyimide nanotubes with tunable wall thickness were fabricated by a precursor impregnation method using an AAO template, and carbon nanotubes containing magnetic iron oxide were obtained using ferric chloride-embedded polyimide precursor by a carbonization process.

Carbon nanotubes are shaped like fibres and can stimulate inflammation at the surface of the peritoneum when injected into the abdominal cavity of mice, raising concerns that inhaled nanotubes may cause pleural fibrosis and/or mesothelioma. Here, we show that multiwalled carbon nanotubes reach the subpleura in mice after a single inhalation exposure of 30 mg m(-3) for 6 h. Nanotubes were embedd...

Ability to control the properties of single-wall nanotubes produced in the arc discharge is important for many practical applications. Our experiments suggest that the length and purity of single-wall nanotubes significantly increase when the magnetic field is applied to the arc discharge. A model of a single wall carbon nanotube interaction and growth in the thermal plasma was developed which ...

We fabricated field-effect transistors based on individual singleand multi-wall carbon nanotubes and analyzed their performance. Transport through the nanotubes is dominated by holes and, at room temperature, it appears to be diffusive rather than ballistic. By varying the gate voltage, we successfully modulated the conductance of a single-wall device by more than 5 orders of magnitude. Multi-w...

Pool boiling heat transfer is measured with two individual working fluids on copper surfaces enhanced with sintered copper powder and carbon nanotubes. The working fluids are a segregated hydrofluoroether, HFE-7300, and deionized water. The surfaces considered in the experiments include smooth copper, copper with sintered copper particles, smooth copper with copper-coated carbon nanotubes (CNT)...

Sonication with nucleic acids has become a standard method for obtaining aqueous dispersions of carbon nanotubes. On the basis of theoretical studies and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) imaging a widely accepted model for DNA association with SWCNT is one in which the DNA binds through non-covalent p-stacking and hydrophobic interactions. Following the standard procedures established by others ...

We report on original nonlinear spectral hole-burning experiments in single wall carbon nanotubes that bring evidence of pure dephasing induced by exciton-exciton scattering. We show that the collision-induced broadening in carbon nanotubes is controlled by exciton-exciton scattering as for Wannier excitons in inorganic semiconductors, while the population relaxation is driven by exciton-excito...