Search results for "Carbon nanotubes"

Carbon nanotubes and organic solar cells

2012

The use of carbon nanotubes in photovoltaics is still challenging due to different issues connected to their synthesis, purification, functionalization, processing and device integration. From this perspective at first we review on selected contributions dealing with the above issues; then we focus on the advantages and limitations of carbon nanotubes for the development of organic solar cells.

Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) nanoparticles as building blocks for hybrid thermoelectric flexible films

2019

Hybrid thermoelectric flexible films based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes were prepared by using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. The employed PEDOT nanoparticles were synthesized by oxidative miniemulsion polymerization by using iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate hexahydrate (FeTos) as an oxidant and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) as stabilizer. Sodium deoxycholate (DOC) was used as a stabilizer to prepare the aqueous dispersions of the carbon nanotubes. Hybrid thermoelectric films were finally prepared with different monomer/oxidant molar ratios and different types of carbon nanotubes, aiming to maximize the power factor (PF). The …

Electronic properties of carbon nanotubes under torsion

2012

A computationally-effective approach for calculating the electromechanical behavior of SWNTs and MWNTs of the dimensions used in nano-electronic devices has been developed. It is a mixed finite element-tight-binding code carefully designed to realize significant time saving in calculating deformation-induced changes in electrical transport properties of the nanotubes. The effect of the MWNT diameter and chirality on the conductance after mechanical deformation was investigated. In case of torsional deformation results revealed the conductance of MWNTs to depend strongly on the diameter, since bigger MWNTs reach much earlier the buckling load under torsion their electrical conductivity chang…

Nanovectorization of TRAIL with single wall carbon nanotubes enhances tumor cell killing

2015

International audience; Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL or Apo2L) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily. This type II transmembrane protein is able to bound specifically to cancer cell receptors (i.e., TRAIL-R1 (or DR4) and TRAIL-R2 (or DR5)) and to induce apoptosis without being toxic for healthy cells. Because membrane-bound TRAIL induces stronger receptor aggregation and apoptosis than soluble TRAIL, we proposed here to vectorize TRAIL using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to mimic membrane TRAIL. Owing to their exceptional and revolutional properties, carbon nanotubes, especially SWCNTs, are used in a wide range of physical or,…

Electromechanical Behavior of Single and Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes

2008

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be metallic or semiconductors depending simply on geometric characteristics. This peculiar electronic behavior, combined with high mechanical strength, make them potential building blocks of a new nano-electronic technology. High resolution images of CNTs often disclose structural deformations such as bent, twisted, or collapsed tubes. These deformations break the tube symmetry, and a change in their electronic properties should result. A computationally effective mixed finite element-tight-binding approach able to simulate the electromechanical behavior of single and multiwall nanotubes used in nano-electronic devices is presented. The finite element (FE) comput…

Strong enhancement of the Breit-Wigner-Fano Raman line in carbon nanotube bundles caused by plasmon band formation

2002

We investigate the origin of the Breit-Wigner-Fano line in the Raman spectra of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes and their bundles. Using confocal Raman microscopy and atomic-force microscopy we found that the Breit-Wigner-Fano line intensity increases strongly with the bundle thickness. We confirmed this result by Raman investigations of partially decomposed bundles, which were additionally investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Our random-phase approximation based theory, which identifies the Breit-Wigner-Fano line as an excited band of plasmon-phonon modes, is fully consistent with the experimental results.

Combination of Confocal Raman Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy on the Same Individual Bundles of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

2002

We report a method to investigate the same individual single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) bundles with both transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Free-standing individual bundles are obtained by depositing a solution of suspend SWNTs on a carbon film with a regular pattern of holes, which can be localized by TEM and also by confocal Raman microscopy. While most of the TEM images predict that the bundles consist of tubes with a similar diameter, we will show that occasionally a certain tube diameter can be associated with a particular radial breathing mode frequency of the Raman spectrum. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are one-dimensional molecular structure…

Janus Micelles as effective supracolloidal dispersants for carbon nanotubes

2012

Carbon nanotube – Protamine hybrid: Evaluation of DNA cell penetration

2016

International audience; Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent a class of nanomaterials with important potential for biomedical and biotechnological applications. CNT based vectorization is an emerging approach to the transport of nucleic acid through cell membrane but limited by detachment of DNA and degradation process. To increase DNA internalization, it was proved that cationic functionalized CNT was essential. In such a way, protamine efficiently used in several transfection processes is a cationic protein which was never associated to CNT.We propose here a novel nanovector based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) functionalized by protamine. Our results based on qPCR methods clearly…

Improved method of manufacturing carbon nanotube infused multifunctional 3D woven composites

2021

This research work aimed to develop smart multifunctional composites via a process for uniformly dispersing carbon nanotubes (CNT) on an orthogonal three-dimensional (3D) woven glass fabric with minimised filtering effect. These smart composites could detect strain under tensile and flexural loading by the piezoresistive response of the infused CNT network. Conventional vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding was modified to control the infusion of 0.25 wt% CNT on the 3D woven glass fabric by varying the vacuum pressure. Results showed that at 101.3 kPa vacuum pressure, the CNT percolated through the thickness of the orthogonal 3D woven glass fabric while being marginally filtered by the f…