Northwestern University Researchers Announce Breakthrough in the Production of Double-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Visualization of the structure of carbon nano tubes, courtesy of Mark Hersam, Northwestern University


There are a number of exciting, possible applications for double-walled carbon nanotubes, particularly in the field of renewable energy. These transparent, microscopic tubes (just two carbon atoms thick) can easily conduct electricity making them an ideal material for solar panels and a number of other high tech applications.
Prior to the recently announced breakthrough, the greatest challenge with double-walled nanotubes has been the production of a usable amount of nearly identical tubes. The production process of double-walled carbon nanotubes also creates many of the single- and multi-walled variety of nanotubes. As a result of their miniscule size, sorting the desired double-walled tubes from the other types has required a tremendous effort.

In their paper published December 14, in the online edition of the journal Nature Nanotechnology, two researchers from Northwestern University outline a new process for efficiently gathering up these coveted double-walled carbon nanotubes. For more information on the team's work, go to http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2008/12/nanotube.html