AVS 50th International Symposium
    Nanotubes Thursday Sessions
       Session NT-ThM

Paper NT-ThM9
Filling and Chemical Modification of Carbon Nanotubes

Thursday, November 6, 2003, 11:00 am, Room 317

Session: Nanotube Growth and Processing
Presenter: N. Naguib, Drexel University
Authors: N. Naguib, Drexel University
H. Ye, Drexel University
Y. Gogotsi, Drexel University
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The possibility of filling of carbon nanotubes at elevated temperatures and pressures has been demonstrated. Carbon nanotubes can be filled with different fluids such as water, ethylene glycol and isopropyl alcohol or different gases such as Argon and Nitrogen. Understanding the penetration of fluids in nanochannels is important for the efficient storage of gasses. The effect of changing variables (pressure and temperature) on the filling process has been demonstrated. Wall structure of the nanotubes after treatment has been investigated. Hydrothermal treatment makes nanotubes hydrophilic. During the hydrothermal treatment, nanotubes can be completely or partially filled with liquids. Lattice fringe imaging of the tube walls showed a very strong interaction between the tube walls and the liquid. If a liquid inclusion was present in the area where some graphite planes terminated within the tube (inner diameter change or bending of the tube), swelling of the tube walls was observed and the wetted graphite layers pointed away from the wall toward the tube axis. Polymerization of ethylene glycol and isopropyl alcohol occurred inside and outside of the nanotubes, producing nanotube-reinforced composites. The liquid could also penetrate between the carbon layers causing this behavior. The exact chemical composition of the fluid, as well as the presence of the gases inside the nanotubes after hydrothermal treatment, have been studied by using TEM, EELS, EDS, Raman and Infrared microspectroscopy techniques.