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Novel Materials Containing Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes Wrapped in Polymer MoleculesIn this design, single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been coated in polymer molecules to create a new type of material that has low electrical conductivity, but still contains individual nanotubes, and small ropes of individual nanotubes, which are themselves good electrical conductors and serve as small conducting rods immersed in an electrically insulating matrix. The polymer is attached through weak chemical forces that are primarily non-covalent in nature, caused primarily through polarization rather than the sharing of valence electrons. Therefore, the electronic structure of the SWNT involved is substantially the same as that of free, individual (and small ropes of) SWNT. Their high conductivity makes the individual nanotubes extremely electrically polarizable, and materials containing these individual, highly polarizable molecules exhibit novel electrical properties including a high dielectric constant.
Document ID
20090027779
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Other - NASA Tech Brief
External Source(s)
http://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/5413
Authors
Smalley, Richard E. (Rice Univ. Houston, TX, United States)
O'Connell, Michael J. (Rice Univ. Houston, TX, United States)
Smith, Kenneth (Carbon Nanotechnology, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Colbert, Daniel T. (Carbon Nanotechnology, Inc. Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 2009
Publication Information
Publication: NASA Tech Briefs, July 2009
Subject Category
Composite Materials
Report/Patent Number
MSC-24070-1
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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IDRelationTitle20090027744Collected WorksNASA Tech Briefs, July 2009
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