Method for growing continuous carbon fiber and compositions thereof
First Claim
1. A method for growing continuous carbon fiber comprising:
- a) providing an array of single-wall carbon nanotubes in generally parallel orientation;
b) contacting the ends of the single-wall carbon nanotubes with at least one catalytic metal;
c) activating the catalytic metal;
d) contacting a gaseous source of carbon to the array and the catalytic metal;
e) heating at least one of the array, the catalytic metal, and the gaseous source of the carbon;
f) growing the single-wall carbon nanotubes at the ends of the single-wall carbon nanotubes to form a continuous carbon fiber, wherein the fiber comprises the single-wall carbon nanotubes in generally parallel orientation; and
g) recovering the continuous carbon fiber.
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Abstract
This invention relates generally to a method for growing carbon fiber from single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) molecular arrays. The carbon fiber which comprises an aggregation of substantially parallel carbon nanotubes may be produced by growth (elongation) of a suitable seed molecular array. The first step is to open the growth end of the SWNTs in the molecular array. Next, a transition metal catalyst is added to the open-ended seed array. In the next step, the SWNT molecular array with catalyst deposited on the open tube ends is subjected to tube growth (extension) conditions. The carbon supply necessary to grow the SWNT molecular array into a continuous fiber is supplied to the SWNT molecular array tip heated to a temperature sufficient to cause growth to any desired length. The continuous carbon fiber can also be grown from more than one separately prepared molecular arrays or templates.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method for growing continuous carbon fiber comprising:
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a) providing an array of single-wall carbon nanotubes in generally parallel orientation;
b) contacting the ends of the single-wall carbon nanotubes with at least one catalytic metal;
c) activating the catalytic metal;
d) contacting a gaseous source of carbon to the array and the catalytic metal;
e) heating at least one of the array, the catalytic metal, and the gaseous source of the carbon;
f) growing the single-wall carbon nanotubes at the ends of the single-wall carbon nanotubes to form a continuous carbon fiber, wherein the fiber comprises the single-wall carbon nanotubes in generally parallel orientation; and
g) recovering the continuous carbon fiber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
a) a first plurality of the single-wall carbon nanotubes having a first homogeneous characteristic selected from the group consisting of lengths, diameters, helicities and combinations thereof; and
b) a second plurality of the single-wall carbon nanotubes having a second homogenous characteristic selected from the group consisting of lengths, diameters, helicities and combinations thereof, wherein the first homogeneous characteristic is different than the second homogeneous characteristic.
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40. The method of claim 39 wherein the first plurality and the second plurality are in different regions of the continuous carbon fiber.
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41. The method of claim 1 wherein at least two arrays are provided.
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42. The method of claim 41 wherein at least one of the arrays comprises single-wall carbon nanotubes having a different homogeneous characteristic than the homogeneous characteristic of the single-wall carbon nanotubes of at least one other array, wherein the homogeneous characteristic is selected from the group consisting of lengths, diameters, helicities and combinations thereof.
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43. The method of claim 41 wherein the arrays are arranged in cable-like structures.
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44. The method of claim 42 wherein the arrays are arranged in cable-like structures.
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45. The method of claim 41 wherein a composite fiber of the arrays comprises a central core surrounded by non-metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes, wherein the central core comprises metallic single-wall carbon nanotubes.
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46. The method of claim 44 wherein the arrays are arranged to produce a composite fiber wherein an orientation of a first section of the composite fiber is not parallel to an orientation of a second section of composite fiber.
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47. The method of claim 1 further comprising using an electric field to align the single-wall carbon nanotubes.
Specification