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Centrifugal Length Sorting of Carbon Nanotubes

Centrifugal Length Sorting of Carbon Nanotubes. Dr. Jeffrey Fagan. Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes. Nanotubes are rolled up sheets of graphite. How they are rolled up determines their electrical properties. The length can be from < 10 nm to microns or more. Image courtesy of wikipedia.org.

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Centrifugal Length Sorting of Carbon Nanotubes

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  1. Centrifugal Length Sorting of Carbon Nanotubes Dr. Jeffrey Fagan

  2. Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes • Nanotubes are rolled up sheets of graphite. • How they are rolled up determines their electrical properties. • The length can be from < 10 nm to microns or more. Image courtesy of wikipedia.org • Nanotubes (SWCNTs) come as a low purity mixture of many types and lengths. • 10 – 30 Different Producers. • Current price  $200 - $750 / gram.

  3. Nanotube Market Composites • Market is rapidly growing. • Many potential applications. Energy Electronics Medical ~ 30 Major Producers Chemical & Engineering News Carbon Nanotubes By The Metric Ton November 12, 2007, Volume 85 (46), pp. 29-35

  4. X Market Problem Composites • There is a disconnect between SWCNT quality and application’s needs. Energy Electronics ~ 10 – 50 % Nanotubes Medical ~ 30 Major Producers

  5. Market Problem Composites • Value addition in the processing. • Some application require sorted material. Energy > 90 % Nanotubes Electronics ~ 10 – 50 % Nanotubes Purified Medical Separated

  6. Technology • We invented a technology to use a centrifuge to sort mixtures of tubes into different lengths. • Our technology allows the economical sorting of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) by length. • Technology works for all SCWNT types.

  7. Technology • At bench scale 10 mg / day separation is easy, and at < $4 / mg total cost. Other separations typically cost $20 - $30 / mg or more. • Our separation is scalable, current 10 mg /day is > 20 X larger than any competitor technique Different types of long SWCNTs.

  8. Applications Technology mechanical properties. • Longer SWCNTs have better optical and • Better Properties  higher value • Sorting  grades for different markets. Purified Separated Raw Soot

  9. Applications: • Medical Applications • Transparent Conductive Electrodes • Other Electronics • Super / Ultracapacitor material • Flexible Electronics • Circuitry • RFID tags • Other Energy • Solar Cells • Batteries • Fuel Cells • Energy Absorbing Material

  10. Applications: Medical Applications • Length affects interactions with cells. IMR 90 Human Lung Cell Stained green for visualization IMR 90 with < 200 nm SWNTs (red) Large numbers enter in < 16 hours IMR 90 with > 200 nm SWNTs (cyan) None enter the cell in 16 hours • Only some SWCNTs are useful. • Need to control the cell uptake. • Less material  fewer side effects.

  11. Applications: Medical Applications Medical Sensors / Target Agents / Imaging Probes • Market Sizes • Target agents: Cancer Drugs Alone  $45 Billion in 2007 • Biosensors:  $5.1 Billion in 2006 • Ability to sense glucose and other commercially important bio-molecules already demonstrated • Cost not an issue for medical applications, only the ability to meet required physical properties. • Sorting reduces the amount required. • Minimize EHS risks and liabilities • Maximize chance of FDA regulatory approval • Size selection allows for greatly enhanced properties or property targeting while substantial reducing the required amount of SWCNTs for a given goal. • Size selection eliminates impurities that could otherwise limit or cause regulatory approval failure.

  12. Applications: Conductive Coatings Image courtesy of Apple • SWCNTs offer a cheap replacement for ITO • Current market for ITO is  $1 Billion/year • 10 % annual growth forecast for the next 5 -6 years. • Sorted SWCNTs are tougher, flexible and more transparent than ITO • Separation  Multiple grades  more value extraction. Images courtesy of Dell • Short time to market, likely 1 - 3 years

  13. Reference Material to Support Technology in Early 2009 • NIST is planning several SWCNT reference materials (RMs) in FY 2009. • Raw Soot, Purified and Size sorted populations based on this technology will be produced. • These materials will allow for significant industrial advances in measurements, as well as traceability to NIST standards.

  14. Technical Opportunities Contact Collaboration Dr. Jeffrey Fagan NIST: Polymers Division 100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 8542 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8542 Tel: 301-975-6740 Email: jeffrey.fagan@nist.gov Dr. Kalman Migler NIST – Polymers Division 100 Bureau Drive, MS 8542 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8542 Tel: 301-975-4876 Kalman.migler@nist.gov

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