Nanotubes Cleaned with Microwave Oven

[Guest_Jim_*]

Carbon nanotubes are an interesting material with multiple forms and many possible applications. For some of these applications though, they have to be very pure and removing imperfections can be difficult and costly. Researchers at Rice University though have discovered that microwaving the nanotubes can make removing impurities a lot easier than other methods.

Carbon nanotubes are grown from metal catalysts, like iron, when exposed to a heated gas. Sometimes there are residual metal particles left on or inside the nanotubes after they are grown, and these impurities can significantly impact the nanotube's properties. Because the particles will also be encapsulated by carbon atoms, they are difficult to remove, but the researchers found that if the nanotubes are first put into a 1000 W microwave oven, they became much easier to remove with an oxidizing chlorine-gas bath. Mostly this worked to remove the particles on the surface of the nanotubes, and not those that were within their walls. Luckily these do not pose as great an issue for many applications.

For use in electronics, nanotubes do not have to be perfect, but that is not the case for drug delivery applications and solar panels. It is in these fields that this research could prove most useful for eventually bringing about advanced technology based on nanotubes.

Source: Rice University

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[That_Guy]

Soo.. That happened exactly how? Someone reheated a sandwich wrapped in nanotube wrapping? XD