Controlling the pore diameter distribution of multi-wall carbon nanotube buckypapers (original) (raw)
Self-supporting mats of entangled carbon nanotubes (buckypapers) are utilized today in an increasing number of applications including nanoactuators [1], artificial muscles [2] and sensors . We have recently initiated a series of investigations in order to understand and control the morphology of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) buckypapers. The effective diffusivity of H 2 , He, O 2 , N 2 , CH 4 and CO 2 through MWCNT mats [6] was determined and we were able to prove that the pore structure of MWCNT buckypapers was independent of the type of solvent used, sonication time and buckypaper surface density. However, control over the pore structure is a prerequisite for engineering buckypaper-based separation technology applications (e.g. chromatography). We hypothesized earlier that the pore characteristics could be governed by the length distribution of the MWCNTs forming the buckypaper . In this Letter we provide evidence that this is indeed the case and that the apparent mean pore diameter of buckypapers can be tuned between 24 and 39 nm simply by changing the length of the MWCNTs.
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