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Rice University lab unzips nanotubes into ribbons by
shooting them at a target
Carbon nanotubes “unzipped” into graphene nanoribbons by a
chemical process invented at Rice University are finding use in all kinds of
projects, but Rice scientists have now found a chemical-free way to unzip them.
The Rice lab of materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan
discovered that nanotubes that hit a target end first turn into mostly ragged
clumps of atoms. But nanotubes that happen to broadside the target unzip into
handy ribbons that can be used in composite materials for strength and
applications that take advantage of their desirable electrical properties.