Rice University lab finds possible keys to better
nanofibers, films
A Rice University laboratory’s cagey strategy turns
negatively charged carbon nanotubes into liquid crystals that could enhance the
creation of fibers and films.
The latest step toward making macro materials out of
microscopic nanotubes depends on cage-like crown ethers that capture potassium
cations. Negatively charged carbon nanotubes associate with potassium cations
to maintain their electrical neutrality. In effect, the ethers help strip these
cations from the surface of the nanotubes, resulting into a net charge that
helps counterbalance the electrical van der Waals attraction that normally turns
carbon nanotubes into an unusable clump.