Spatial localization of dispersed single walled carbon nanotubes into useful structures

• US 20030012723A1
• Filed: 10/26/2001
• Published: 01/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
• Original Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
• Inventors: Clarke, Mark S.F.
• Granted Patent: US 6,896,864 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 423/460
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: D01F 11/14 with organic compounds, e.g. macromolecular compounds
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/745 having a modified surface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/845 Purification or separation of fullerenes or nanotubes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2918 including free carbon or carbide or therewith [not as steel]

Abstract

Methods of aligning single walled carbon nanotube structures into selected orientations for a variety of different applications are achieved by initially dispersing the nanotube structures in aqueous solutions utilizing a suitable dispersal agent. The dispersal agent coats each individual nanotube structure in solution. The dispersal agent may be substituted with a suitable functional group that reacts with a corresponding binding site. Dispersed nanotube structures coated with substituted dispersal agents are exposed to a selected array of binding sites such that the nanotubes align with the binding sites due to the binding of the substituted functional groups with such binding sites. Alternatively, crystalline nanotube material is formed upon deposition of dispersed nanotube structures within solution into channels disposed on the surface of the substrate. Combining dispersal agent chemical modification techniques with deposition of the nanotubes into substrate channels is also utilized to produce useful structures.

Claims

1. A method of spatially aligning a single walled carbon nanotube in a selected orientation comprising:

securing a reactive group to the nanotube; and

binding the reactive group secured to the nanotube to a reactive site secured to a structure to connect the nanotube with the structure.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adhering a dispersal agent to the nanotube to effectively disperse the nanotube from other single walled carbon nanotubes in an aqueous solution, wherein the securing a reactive group to the nanotube includes securing the reactive group to the dispersal agent.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the reactive group is connected to a base compound, the base compound includes a second reactive group spaced a selected distance from the reactive group, and the securing the reactive group to the dispersal agent includes:

binding the second reactive group to a second reactive site disposed on the dispersal agent.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the reactive group and the reactive site includes a chemical group selected from the group consisting of alkyl, carboxyl, amine, sulfhydryl, hydroxyl, aldehyde, maleimide, isocyanate and hydrazide.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the reactive group and the reactive site is disposed on one of a homobifunctional cross-linking agent and a heterobifunctional cross-linking agent.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the cross-linking agent is selected from the group consisting of a dithiol, PMPI and ABH.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the reactive group and the reactive site includes one of an antigen and an antibody.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the reactive group includes biotin and the reactive site includes avidin.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the reactive group is disposed on a biotinylation compound selected from the group consisting of biocytin, Biotin-PEO-Amine, PEO-Iodoacetyl-Biotin and Sulfo-NHS-Biotin.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the structure to which the reactive site is secured is another single walled carbon nanotube.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the structure to which the reactive site is secured is a substrate.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing a plurality of single walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in aqueous solution with the dispersal agent adhered to the nanotubes, wherein each nanotube includes at least one reactive group secured thereto via the dispersal agent.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the reactive group includes a chemical group selected from the group consisting of alkyl, carboxyl, amine, sulfhydryl, hydroxyl, aldehyde, isocyanate, maleimide and hydrazide.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the chemical compound is selected from the group consisting of a dithiol, PMPI and ABH.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein reactive group comprises one of an antigen and an antibody.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the reactive group includes biotin.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the chemical compound is selected from the group consisting of biocytin, Biotin-PEO-Amine, PEO-Iodoacetyl-Biotin and Sulfo-NHS-Biotin.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein each of the reactive groups and the reactive sites includes a chemical group selected from the group consisting of alkyl, carboxyl, amine, sulfhydryl, hydroxyl, aldehyde, isocyanate, maleimide and hydrazide.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the reactive groups are disposed on cross-linking agents, and the securing a plurality of reactive groups to the dispersal agents molecules includes:

securing the cross-linking agents to the dispersal agent molecules.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein each cross-linking agent is selected from the group consisting of PMPI, ABH and a dithiol.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein each of the reactive groups and the reactive sites comprises one of an antigen and an antibody.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein each of the reactive groups include biotin, and each of the reactive sites include avidin.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein each cross-linking agent is a biotinylating agent selected from the group consisting of biocytin, Biotin-PEO-Amine, PEO-Iodoacetyl-Biotin and Sulfo-NHS-Biotin.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one structure includes dispersal agent molecules coating the nanotubes, and the securing the nanotubes coated with dispersal agent molecules including reactive groups secured thereto to spatially oriented reactive sites secured to at least one structure includes securing each nanotube to a neighboring nanotube to form a matrix of interconnected nanotubes.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one structure is a substrate, the reactive sites are secured on a surface of the substrate in a selected spatial pattern, and the securing the nanotubes coated with dispersal agent molecules including reactive groups secured thereto to spatially oriented reactive sites secured to at least one structure includes aligning the nanotubes along the selected spatial pattern.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the substrate includes at least one channel disposed on the substrate surface, and the reactive sites are disposed within the at least one channel.

29. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least one structure is a substrate, and the securing the nanotubes coated with dispersal agent molecules including reactive groups secured thereto to spatially oriented reactive sites secured to at least one structure includes:

coating the surface of the substrate with a plurality of photoreactive molecules including the reactive sites, wherein the reactive sites are photoactivated and become reactive with the reactive groups upon exposure to ultraviolet light; and

subjecting the coated surface of the substrate to a selected pattern of ultraviolet light to photoactivate the reactive sites disposed along the selected pattern.

30. The method of claim 21, wherein the photoreactive molecules are derivatives of 4-azido-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoic acid.

12. A method of modifying single walled carbon nanotubes comprising:

adhering a dispersal agent to a single walled carbon nanotube, wherein the dispersal agent is effective in dispersing the nanotube from other nanotubes in an aqueous solution; and

securing to the dispersal agent a chemical compound comprising a reactive group, wherein the reactive group is capable of binding with a reactive site secured to a structure upon exposure of the reactive group to the reactive site.

19. A method of forming a structure of spatially oriented single walled carbon nanotubes comprising:

coating the nanotubes with dispersal agent molecules to disperse the nanotubes from each other in an aqueous solution;

securing reactive groups to the dispersal agent molecules; and

securing the nanotubes coated with dispersal agent molecules including reactive groups secured thereto to spatially oriented reactive sites secured to at least one structure via a binding reaction between the reactive sites and the reactive groups.

31. A method of forming a structure of selectively oriented single walled carbon nanotubes, comprising:

forming at least one channel on a substrate; and

depositing single walled carbon nanotubes into the at least one channel to form aligned nanotube material along the at least one channel.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the nanotubes are coated with dispersal agent molecules to disperse the nanotubes in an aqueous solution.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the depositing the single walled carbon nanotubes into the channel includes:

depositing the nanotubes coated with the dispersal agent molecules and dispersed in aqueous solution into the at least one channel;

sedimenting the nanotubes in the solution within the at least one channel; and

removing the solution from the at least one channel to form the aligned nanotube material along the channel.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the removing the solution from the at least one channel includes at least one of evaporating the solution and controlled heating of the solution, and the aligned nanotube material formed along the at least one channel is crystalline.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the dispersal agent molecules include a hydrophobic region that adheres to the nanotubes and an exposed hydrophilic region, and the forming at least one channel on a substrate includes:

providing an underlay including a hydrophilic surface to attract the nanotubes coated with the dispersal agent molecules;

providing an overlay over the underlay to cover the hydrophilic surface; and

etching the overlay to form the at least one channel on the overlay, wherein the underlay is exposed within the at least one channel.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the overlay includes an exposed hydrophobic surface to repel nanotubes coated with the dispersal agent molecules from the hydrophobic surface.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein each of the dispersal agent molecules includes a reactive group secured thereto, and the at least one channel includes a plurality of reactive sites immobilized along the at least one channel, and the depositing the nanotubes coated with the dispersal agent molecules and dispersed in aqueous solution includes:

binding the reactive groups to the reactive sites to immobilize the nanotubes within the channels at the reactive sites.

38. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

providing a plurality of substrates with a plurality of channels containing aligned nanotube material formed within each of the channels, wherein the channels on each substrate are longitudinally aligned in a similar direction;

adhering the substrates to each other in a stacked relationship to form a brick including a matrix of channels longitudinally aligned in a similar direction;

sectioning the brick in a direction transverse a longitudinal axis of each of the channels to form a plurality of blocks containing the matrix of channels of reduced longitudinal dimensions; and

coating a surface of each of the blocks that is transverse the longitudinal axis of each of the channels with an electrically conductive material.

39. The method of claim 3l, wherein the at least one channel includes a plurality of channels aligned on the substrate in a pattern of a circuit component, and the aligned nanotube material formed along the channels forms the circuit component.

40. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

removing the single walled carbon nanotube material aligned within the channels from the substrate to form fibers of single walled carbon nanotube material.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the removing the single walled carbon nanotube material aligned within the channels from the substrate includes dissolving the substrate from the aligned single walled carbon nanotube material.

42. The method of claim 31, wherein each of the channels includes a substantially V-shaped cross-section.

43. A structure comprising a single walled carbon nanotube including a reactive group secured thereto, wherein the reactive group is bound to a reactive site to connect the nanotube with the reactive site.

44. The structure of claim 43, wherein the nanotube is coated with dispersal agent molecules, and the reactive group is secured to a dispersal agent molecule coating the nanotube.

45. The structure of claim 43, wherein at least one of the reactive group and the reactive site includes a chemical group selected from the group consisting of alkyl, carboxyl, amine, suflhydryl, hydroxyl, aldehyde, maleimide, isocyanate and hydrazide.

46. The structure of claim 43, wherein at least one of the reactive group and the reactive site is disposed on one of a homobifunctional cross-linking agent and a heterobifunctional cross-linking agent.

47. The structure of claim 46, wherein the cross-linking agent is selected from the group consisting of a dithiol, PMPI and ABH.

48. The structure of claim 43, wherein each of the reactive group and the reactive site includes one of an antigen and an antibody.

49. The structure of claim 48, wherein the reactive group includes biotin and the reactive site includes avidin.

50. The structure of claim 49, wherein the reactive group is disposed on a biotinylation compound selected from the group consisting of biocytin;

Biotin-PEO-Amine, PEO-Iodoacetyl-Biotin and Sulfo-NHS-Biotin.

51. The structure of claim 43, further comprising a plurality of nanotubes including a plurality of reactive groups secured thereto, wherein the reactive groups are bound reactive sites to connect the nanotubes with the reactive sites.

52. The structure of claim 51, wherein each nanotube includes at least one reactive site that is bound to a reactive group secured to a neighboring nanotube so as to form a matrix of interconnected nanotubes.

53. The structure of claim 51, wherein the reactive sites are disposed in a selected spatial pattern on a substrate.

54. The structure of claim 53, wherein the substrate includes at least one channel, and the reactive sites are disposed within the channel.

55. The structure of claim 53, wherein a surface of the substrate is coated with photoreactive molecules, and the reactive sites are formed on the substrate upon exposure of ultraviolet light to the substrate surface in the selected spatial pattern.

56. The structure of claim 55, wherein the photoreactive molecules are derivatives of 4-azido-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoic acid.

58. The solution of claim 57, wherein each of the reactive groups includes a chemical group selected from the group consisting of alkyl, carboxyl, amine, sulfhydryl, hydroxyl, aldehyde, isocyanate, maleimide and hydrazide.

59. The solution of claim 57, wherein the chemical compound is selected from the group consisting of PMPI and ABH.

60. The solution of claim 57, wherein the reactive group comprises one of an antigen and an antibody.

61. The solution of claim 60, wherein the reactive group includes biotin.

62. The solution of claim 61, wherein the chemical compound is selected from the group consisting of biocytin, Biotin-PEO-Amine, PEO-Iodoacetyl-Biotin and Sulfo-NHS-Biotin.

57. A solution comprising:

a plurality of single walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in the solution, wherein the nanotubes are coated with dispersal agent molecules; and

a plurality of chemical compounds secured to the dispersal agent molecules, wherein the chemical compounds include reactive groups that are capable of binding with reactive sites upon exposure of the reactive groups to the reactive sites.

63. A structure comprising:

a substrate including at least one channel disposed on a surface of the substrate; and

a plurality of single walled carbon nanotubes aligned along and within the at least one channel.

64. The structure of claim 63, wherein the plurality of nanotubes are coated with dispersal agent molecules.