AVS 46th International Symposium
    Topical Conference on Emerging Opportunities and Issues in Nanotubes and Nanoelectronics Wednesday Sessions
       Session NT+NS+EM+MS-WeA

Invited Paper NT+NS+EM+MS-WeA1
Making and Modifying Carbon Nanotubes

Wednesday, October 27, 1999, 2:00 pm, Room 6C

Session: Nanotubes: Growth, Characterization and Properties I
Presenter: R.E. Smalley, Rice University
Correspondent: Click to Email
The last year has produced exciting developments in our ability to produce and modify single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT). New experiments have shown the feasibility of producing nanotubes in an efficient gas-phase process, sometimes having diameters down to approximately 0.6 nm. These methods involve chemical vapor deposition in high-pressure carbon monoxide. We are now pursuing this growth technique as a potentially viable means for cost-effective production of large amounts of SWNT. Development of new methods for purification and characterization of nanotubes has given new insight into their growth mechanisms. I will present new data on the morphology and length distributions of SWNT grown by traditional laser-oven methods, and outline new results on the behavior and characteristics of tube samples. Perhaps the most remarkable developments have been in the chemistry of SWNT as a new molecular species. Several groups have discovered means of covalent attachment of other chemical species to the tube ends and sidewalls. This derivatization significantly modifies the properties of SWNTs, permits the first true solutions of tube segments, and opens the door to a remarkable new realm of chemistry, materials science, and electronics.