1. Capillarity-driven assembly of two-dimensional cellular carbon nanotube foams.
- Author
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Chakrapani, Nirupama, Wei, Bingqing, Carrillo, Alvaro, Ajayan, Pulickel M., and Kane, Ravi S.
- Subjects
NANOTUBES ,CARBON ,BIOLOGICAL membranes ,BIOLOGICAL interfaces ,COLLOIDS ,BIOLOGY - Abstract
Capillary forces arising during the evaporation of liquids from dense carbon nanotube arrays are used to reassemble the nanotubes into two-dimensional contiguous cellular foams. The stable nanotube foams can be elastically deformed, transferred to other substrates, or floated out to produce free-standing macroscopic fabrics. The lightweight cellular foams made of condensed nanotubes could have applications as shock-absorbent structural reinforcements and elastic membranes. The ability to control the length scale, orientation, and shape of the cellular structures and the simplicity of the assembly process make this a particularly attractive system for studying pattern formation in ordered media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2004
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