Monday, February 28, 2011

No. 252: Synthesize carbon nanotube in a flask (February 28, 2011)

A professor of Kyoto University developed the technology to synthesize carbon nanotube in a flask. This technology makes it possible to build a break-proof carbon nanotube at a low temperature and control the size and behavior. The results were published in the February 28 issue of the electronics version of Nature Materials that is a British science magazine. He put platinum ion and two kinds of organic compounds in a flask and built a square frame 1.1 nanometer on a side, and subsequently added iodine to build a single-wall carbon nanotube square pole. Because materials other than platinum are inexpensive, the production cost is several thousand yen per gram that is about one hundredth of the cost needed for the existing carbon nanotube. If platinum can be replaced by nickel, the production cost will be further reduced to one tenth of the cost achieved in the experiment. In addition to the break-proof nature, the carbon nanotube built using the newly-developed technology makes it possible to absorb only specific gases. The professor plans to apply this technology to gas sensor, fuel cell, and electronics parts and components.

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