Browsing by Author "Hauge, Robert H."
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Item Amplification of carbon nanotubes via seeded-growth methods(2013-10-22) Smalley, Richard E.; Hauge, Robert H.; Barron, Andrew R.; Tour, James M.; Schmidt, Howard K.; Billups, Edward W.; Dyke, Christopher A.; Moore, Valerie C.; Whitsitt, Elizabeth Anne; Anderson, Robin E.; Colorado Jr., Ramon; Stewart, Michael P.; Ogrin, Douglas C.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention is directed towards methods (processes) of providing large quantities of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of defined diameter and chirality (i.e., precise populations). In such processes, CNT seeds of a pre-selected diameter and chirality are grown to many (e.g., hundreds) times their original length. This is optionally followed by cycling some of the newly grown material back as seed material for regrowth. Thus, the present invention provides for the large-scale production of precise populations of CNTs, the precise composition of such populations capable of being optimized for a particular application (e.g., hydrogen storage). The present invention is also directed to complexes of CNTs and transition metal catalyst precurors, such complexes typically being formed en route to forming CNT seeds.Item Apparatus for Scalable Functionalization of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes via the Billups-Birch Reduction(MDPI, 2017) Pham, David; Zhang, Kevin S.; Lawal, Olawale; Ghosh, Saunab; Gangoli, Varun Shenoy; Ainscough, Thomas J.; Kellogg, Bernie; Hauge, Robert H.; Adams, W. Wade; Barron, Andrew R.A prototype design of a reactor for scalable functionalization of SWCNTs by the reaction of alkyl halides with Billups-Birch reduced SWCNTs is described. The Hauge apparatus is designed to allow for the safe handling of all the reagents and products under an inert atmosphere at controlled temperatures. The extent of reaction of Li/NH3 solution with the SWCNTs is measured in-situ by solution conduction, while homogenous mixing is ensured by the use of a homogenizer, and thermocouple are placed at different heights within the reactor flask. Addition of an alkyl halide yield alkyl-functionalized SWCNTs, which may be isolated by solvent extraction leaving a solid sample that is readily purified by hydrocarbon extraction. As an example, reaction of SWCNT/Li/NH3 with 1-iododecane yields dodecane-functionalized SWCNTs (C12-SWCNTs), which have been characterized by TG/DTA, XPS, and Raman spectroscopy. Sample extraction during the reaction allows for probing of the rate of the reaction in order to determine the end point of the reaction, which for C12-SWCNTs (at −78 °C) is 30 min.Item Atomic H-Induced Mo2C Hybrid as an Active and Stable Bifunctional Electrocatalyst(American Chemical Society, 2017) Fan, Xiujun; Liu, Yuanyue; Peng, Zhiwei; Zhang, Zhenhua; Zhou, Haiqing; Zhang, Xianming; Yakobson, Boris I.; Goddard, William A. III; Guo, Xia; Hauge, Robert H.; Tour, James M.; NanoCarbon CenterMo2C nanocrystals (NCs) anchored on vertically aligned graphene nanoribbons (VA-GNR) as hybrid nanoelectrocatalysts (Mo2C–GNR) are synthesized through the direct carbonization of metallic Mo with atomic H treatment. The growth mechanism of Mo2C NCs with atomic H treatment is discussed. The Mo2C–GNR hybrid exhibits highly active and durable electrocatalytic performance for the hydrogen-evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR). For HER, in an acidic solution the Mo2C–GNR has an onset potential of 39 mV and a Tafel slope of 65 mV dec–1, and in a basic solution Mo2C–GNR has an onset potential of 53 mV, and Tafel slope of 54 mV dec–1. It is stable in both acidic and basic media. Mo2C–GNR is a high-activity ORR catalyst with a high peak current density of 2.01 mA cm–2, an onset potential of 0.93 V that is more positive vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), a high electron transfer number n (∼3.90), and long-term stability.Item Broadband, Polarization-Sensitive Photodetector Based on Optically-Thick Films of Macroscopically Long, Dense, and Aligned Carbon Nanotubes(Nature Publishing Group, 2013) Nanot, Sebastien; Cummings, Aron W.; Pint, Cary L.; Ikeuchi, Akira; Akiho, Takafumi; Sueoka, Kazuhisa; Hauge, Robert H.; Leonard, François; Kono, JunichiroIncreasing performance demands on photodetectors and solar cells require the development of entirely new materials and technological approaches.Wereport on the fabrication and optoelectronic characterization of a photodetector based on optically-thick films of dense, aligned, and macroscopically long single-wall carbon nanotubes. The photodetector exhibits broadband response from the visible to the mid-infrared under global illumination, with a response time less than 32 ms. Scanning photocurrent microscopy indicates that the signal originates at the contact edges, with an amplitude and width that can be tailored by choosing different contact metals. A theoretical model demonstrates the photothermoelectric origin of the photoresponse due to gradients in the nanotube Seebeck coefficient near the contacts. The experimental and theoretical results open a new path for the realization of optoelectronic devices based on three-dimensionally organized nanotubes.Item Bulk cutting of carbon nanotubes using electron beam irradiation(2013-09-24) Ziegler, Kirk J.; Rauwald, Urs; Hauge, Robert H.; Schmidt, Howard K.; Smalley, Richard E.; Kittrell, Carter W.; Gu, Zhenning; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeAccording to some embodiments, the present invention provides a method for attaining short carbon nanotubes utilizing electron beam irradiation, for example, of a carbon nanotube sample. The sample may be pretreated, for example by oxonation. The pretreatment may introduce defects to the sidewalls of the nanotubes. The method is shown to produces nanotubes with a distribution of lengths, with the majority of lengths shorter than 100 tun. Further, the median length of the nanotubes is between about 20 nm and about 100 nm.Item Carbon nanotube diameter selection by pretreatment of metal catalysts on surfaces(2012-02-28) Hauge, Robert H.; Xu, Ya-Qiong; Shan, Hongwei; Nicholas, Nolan Walker; Kim, Myung Jong; Schmidt, Howard K.; Kittrell, Carter W.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeA new and useful nanotube growth substrate conditioning processes is herein disclosed that allows the growth of vertical arrays of carbon nanotubes where the average diameter of the nanotubes can be selected and/or controlled as compared to the prior art.Item Carbon nanotube substrates and catalyzed hot stamp for polishing and patterning the substrates(2009-09-08) Wang, Yuhuang; Hauge, Robert H.; Schmidt, Howard K.; Kim, Myung Jong; Kittrell, Carter W.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention is generally directed to catalyzed hot stamp methods for polishing and/or patterning carbon nanotube-containing substrates. In some embodiments, the substrate, as a carbon nanotube fiber end, is brought into contact with a hot stamp (typically at 200-800° C.), and is kept in contact with the hot stamp until the morphology/patterns on the hot stamp have been transferred to the substrate. In some embodiments, the hot stamp is made of material comprising one or more transition metals (Fe, Ni, Co, Pt, Ag, Au, etc.), which can catalyze the etching reaction of carbon with H2, CO2, H2O, and/or O2. Such methods can (1) polish the carbon nanotube-containing substrate with a microscopically smooth finish, and/or (2) transfer pre-defined patterns from the hot stamp to the substrate. Such polished or patterned carbon nanotube substrates can find application as carbon nanotube electrodes, field emitters, and field emitter arrays for displays and electron sources.Item Carbon nanotubes and their derivatives as matrix elements for the matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry of biomolecules and sequencing using associated fragmentation(2008-08-19) Sivarajan, Ramesh; Hauge, Robert H.; Marriott, Terry; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention is directed toward novel matrix elements, generally comprising functionalized carbon nanotubes, for matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI)-mass spectroscopy (MS), methods of making such matrix elements, and to methods of using such matrix elements in MALDI-MS applications, particularly for the analysis of biological molecules. In some embodiments, by carefully tuning the absorption characteristics of the matrix element, biomolecular analytes can be sequenced.Item Chemical derivatization of single-wall carbon nanotubes to facilitate solvation thereof- and use of derivatized nanotubes(2004-12-28) Margrave, John L.; Mickelson, Edward T.; Hauge, Robert H.; Boul, Peter; Huffman, Chad; Liu, Jie; Smalley, Richard E.; Smith, Kenneth A.; Colbert, Daniel T.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThis invention is directed to making chemical derivatives of carbon nanotubes and to uses for the derivatized nanotubes, including making arrays as a basis for synthesis of carbon fibers. In one embodiment, this invention also provides a method for preparing single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube by reacting single wall carbon nanotubes with fluorine gas and recovering fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes, then reacting fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with a nucleophile. Some of the fluorine substituents are replaced by nucleophilic substitution. If desired, the remaining fluorine can be completely or partially eliminated to produce single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube. The substituents will, of course, be dependent on the nucleophile, and preferred nucleophiles include alkyl lithium species such as methyl lithium. Alternatively, fluorine may be fully or partially removed from fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes by reacting the fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with various amounts of hydrazine, substituted hydrazine or alkyl amine. The present invention also provides seed materials for growth of single wall carbon nanotubes comprising a plurality of single wall carbon nanotubes or short tubular molecules having a catalyst precursor moiety covalently bound or physisorbed on the outer surface of the sidewall to provide the optimum metal cluster size under conditions that result in migration of the metal moiety to the tube end.Item Chemical derivatization of single-wall carbon nanotubes to facilitate solvation thereof; and use of derivatized nanotubes to form catalyst-containing seed materials for use in making carbon fibers(2003-11-11) Margrave, John L.; Mickelson, Edward T.; Hauge, Robert H.; Boul, Peter; Huffman, Chad; Liu, Jie; Smalley, Richard E.; Smith, Kenneth A.; Colbert, Daniel T.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThis invention is directed to making chemical derivatives of carbon nanotubes and to uses for the derivatized nanotubes, including making arrays as a basis for synthesis of carbon fibers. In one embodiment, this invention also provides a method for preparing single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube by reacting single wall carbon nanotubes with fluorine gas and recovering fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes, then reacting fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with a nucleophile. Some of the fluorine substituents are replaced by nucleophilic substitution. If desired, the remaining fluorine can be completely or partially eliminated to produce single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube. The substituents will, of course, be dependent on the nucleophile, and preferred nucleophiles include alkyl lithium species such as methyl lithium. Alternatively, fluorine may be fully or partially removed from fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes by reacting the fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with various amounts of hydrazine, substituted hydrazine or alkyl amine. The present invention also provides seed materials for growth of single wall carbon nanotubes comprising a plurality of single wall carbon nanotubes or short tubular molecules having a catalyst precursor moiety covalently bound or physisorbed on the outer surface of the sidewall to provide the optimum metal cluster size under conditions that result in migration of the metal moiety to the tube end.Item Chemically modifying single wall carbon nanotubes to facilitate dispersal in solvents(2005-04-05) Margrave, John L.; Mickelson, Edward T.; Hauge, Robert H.; Boul, Peter; Huffman, Chad; Liu, Jie; Smalley, Richard E.; Smith, Kenneth A.; Colbert, Daniel T.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThis invention is directed to making chemical derivatives of carbon nanotubes and to uses for the derivatized nanotubes, including making arrays as a basis for synthesis of carbon fibers. In one embodiment, this invention also provides a method for preparing single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube by reacting single wall carbon nanotubes with fluorine gas and recovering fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes, then reacting fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with a nucleophile. Some of the fluorine substituents are replaced by nucleophilic substitution. If desired, the remaining fluorine can be completely or partially eliminated to produce single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube. The substituents will, of course, be dependent on the nucleophile, and preferred nucleophiles include alkyl lithium species such as methyl lithium. Alternatively, fluorine may be fully or partially removed from fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes by reacting the fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with various amounts of hydrazine, substituted hydrazine or alkyl amine. The present invention also provides seed materials for growth of single wall carbon nanotubes comprising a plurality of single wall carbon nanotubes or short tubular molecules having a catalyst precursor moiety covalently bound or physisorbed on the outer surface of the sidewall to provide the optimum metal cluster size under conditions that result in migration of the metal moiety to the tube end.Item Chirality control of single -walled carbon nanotubes on surfaces and optimization of their growth in vertically -aligned arrays(2007) Pheasant, Sean T.; Hauge, Robert H.In order to use single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) for electronic, mechanical, and medical applications, there must be control over the types and orientation of the SWNTs that are produced, and they also need to be produced in large quantities. Results from research focusing on these issues are described in this thesis. The first part talks about growing SWNTs with chirality control on a surface. The second part discusses how to optimize the growth of vertically-aligned nanotube arrays (SWNT carpets) with oxidants, carbon feedstock, temperature and pressure. The focus of the chirality-control research was to prove that an existing nanotube could be grown longer on a surface. The thought is that the initial SWNT seed will act as a template, and determine the chirality of the elongated SWNT. It was found that it is possible to re-grow SWNTs on silicon and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, but that it is rare and can be very slow. A CVD apparatus was built to optimize the growth of vertical arrays of SWNTs. It reduced the background level of oxidants so that exact amounts of oxidants could be injected into to the growth gas flow to see how they affected growth. A hot filament was also used during the nucleation stage to dissociate molecular hydrogen for the rapid reduction of the iron oxide catalyst particles to iron. It was found that using carbon dioxide or water in conjunction with the hot filament catalyst activation increased the growth rate. Using a small amount of oxygen hindered growth, or prevented it completely. It was also found that while atomic hydrogen allowed better growth in many scenarios, too much could deter growth. The results of the carpet growth also gave some insight as to the mechanism by which carbon is incorporated into a SWNT from molecules in the gas phase.Item Copolymerization of polybenzazoles and other aromatic polymers with carbon nanotubes(2007-08-28) Hwang, Wen-Fang; Smalley, Richard E.; Hauge, Robert H.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention is generally directed to the block copolymerization of rigid rod polymers with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the CNTs generally being shortened, to form nanotube block copolymers. The present invention is also directed to fibers and other shaped articles made from the nanotube block copolymers of the present invention.Item Curvature Effects on the Optical Transitions of Single-Wall Carbon Nanotubes(2013-07-24) Haroz, Erik; Tittel, Frank K.; Xu, Qianfan; Hauge, Robert H.Optical transition energies are widely used for providing experimental insight into the electronic band structure of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). While the first and second optical transitions in semiconducting carbon nanotubes have already been heavily studied, due to experimental difficulties in accessing the relevant excitation energy region, little is known about higher lying transitions. Here, I present measurements of the third and fourth optical transitions of small-diameter (0.7-1.2 nm), semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes via resonant Raman spectroscopy in the visible deep blue region (415-465 nm) and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and visible blue optical regions (280-488 nm). Diameter-dependent Raman radial breathing mode features, as well as resonant energy excitation maxima determined by Raman and photoluminescence measurements, are assigned to specific (n,m) nanotube species. The Raman intensity within a given 2n+m branch is found to increase with decreasing chiral angle, consistent with similar measurements for lower order optical states. Additionally, increased excitation line widths and weaker Raman intensities are observed as higher lying transitions are accessed for a given nanotube, in agreement with previous Raman measurements. Chiefly, a scaling law analysis that removes the chiral-angle-dependent contribution to the optical transition energy indicates that the third and fourth transition energies exhibit a significant deviation from the energy trend line observed for the first and second optical transitions, when the transition energies are plotted as a function of nanotube diameter. This deviation can be understood in the context of a change in the competition between exchange and excitonic correction terms. Furthermore, for semiconducting SWCNTs with diameters less than 0.9 nm, an additional deviation is observed that is interpreted as the first observation of crossing-over of the third and fourth transition energy trend lines for a given 2n+m branch and a chirality dependence in the many-body excitonic effects that becomes significant at high nanotube curvatures.Item Cutting of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT): (1) Cutting of pristine SWNT by ozonolysis; (2) Ozonolysis of functionalized SWNT; (3) Cutting ozonated SWNT by e-irradiation; (4) Cutting fluorinated SWNT by pyrolysis(2006) Chen, Zheyi; Hauge, Robert H.; Smalley, Richard E.Using perfluoropolyether as the solvent, cutting of pristine SWNT has been achieved by extensive ozonolysis with 80% carbon yield at room temperature. The intense disorder mode in the Raman spectra of ozonated SWNT indicates that extensive reaction with the sidewalls of SWNT occurs during ozonolysis. AFM provided a measure of the extent of the cutting effects. Monitoring of the evolved gases indicates CO2 was produced during the ozonolysis process with a dependence on both system pressure and temperature. During heating, FTIR analysis of gases released indicates carbon oxygen groups on the sidewalls of SWNT are released as CO2. Room temperature ozonolysis of fluorinated SWNT and phenol-sulfonated SWNT have also been studied in PFPE. For fluorinated SWNT, etching at the end caps has been demonstrated to be the dominating effect during this process. The improved suspension in 96% sulfuric acid after ozonolysis enables the cutting by ammonia peroxydisulfate without defluorination with a hydrazine treatment. PS-SWNT was found to be effectively cut by ozonolysis in a water suspension with preserved water solubility. Controlled by the electron dosage, a high energy electron beam (3MeV) has been demonstrated to cut ozonated SWNT. Besides ozonolysis, 700°C has been shown an optimal temperature to cut F-SWNT by pyrolysis in an argon atmosphere.Item Dispersions and solutions of fluorinated single-wall carbon nanotubes(2004-12-07) Margrave, John L.; Mickelson, Edward T.; Hauge, Robert H.; Boul, Peter; Huffman, Chad; Liu, Jie; Smalley, Richard E.; Smith, Kenneth A.; Colbert, Daniel T.; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThis invention is directed to making chemical derivatives of carbon nanotubes and to uses for the derivatized nanotubes, including making arrays as a basis for synthesis of carbon fibers. In one embodiment, this invention also provides a method for preparing single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube by reacting single wall carbon nanotubes with fluorine gas and recovering fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes, then reacting fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with a nucleophile. Some of the fluorine substituents are replaced by nucleophilic substitution. If desired, the remaining fluorine can be completely or partially eliminated to produce single wall carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube. The substituents will, of course, be dependent on the nucleophile, and preferred nucleophiles include alkyl lithium species such as methyl lithium. Alternatively, fluorine may be fully or partially removed from fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes by reacting the fluorine derivatized carbon nanotubes with various amounts of hydrazine, substituted hydrazine or alkyl amine. The present invention also provides seed materials for growth of single wall carbon nanotubes comprising a plurality of single wall carbon nanotubes or short tubular molecules having a catalyst precursor moiety covalently bound or physisorbed on the outer surface of the sidewall to provide the optimum metal cluster size under conditions that result in migration of the metal moiety to the tube end.Item Enrichment and Fundamental Optical Processes of Armchair Carbon Nanotubes(2013-09-16) Haroz, Erik; Tittel, Frank K.; Xu, Qianfan; Hauge, Robert H.The armchair variety of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) is the only nanotube species that behaves as a metal with no electronic band gap and massless carriers, making them ideally suited to probe fundamental questions of many-body physics of one-dimensional conductors as well as to serve in applications such as high-current power transmission cables. However, current methods of nanotube synthesis produce bulk material comprising of a mixture of nanotube lengths, diameters, wrapping angles, and electronic types due to the inability to control the growth process at the nanometer level. As a result, measurements of as-grown SWCNTs produce a superposition of electrical and optical responses from multiple SWCNT species. This thesis demonstrates production of aqueous suspensions composed almost entirely of armchair SWCNTs using a post-synthesis separation method employing density gradient ultracentrifugation (DGU) to separate different SWCNT types based on their mass density and surfactant-specific interactions. Resonant Raman spectroscopy determines the relative abundances of each nanotube species, before and after DGU, by measuring the integrated intensity of the radial breathing mode, the diameter-dependent radial vibration of the SWCNT perpendicular to its main axis, and quantifies the degree of enrichment of bulk nanotube samples to exclusively armchair tubes. Raman spectroscopy of armchair-enriched samples of the G-band mode, which is composed of longitudinal (G-) and circumferential (G+) vibrations oscillating parallel and perpendicular to the tube axis, shows that the G- peak, long-held to be an indicator for the presence of metallic SWCNTs, appears only when electronic resonance with narrow-gap semiconducting SWCNTs occurs and shows only the G+ component in spectra containing only armchair species. Finally, by combining optical absorption measurements with nanotube composition as determined earlier via Raman scattering, peak fitting of absorption spectra indicates that interband transitions of armchair SWCNTs are strongly excitonic as shown by the highly symmetric peak lineshapes, a property normally attributed to semiconductors. Such lineshapes allow classification of armchair SWCNTs as a unique hybrid class of optical nanomaterial. Combining absorption and Raman scattering measurements establishes a distinct optical signature that describes the fundamental optical processes within armchair SWCNTs and lays the foundation for future studies of many-body photophysics and electrical applications.Item Fibers comprised of epitaxially grown single-wall carbon nanotubes- and a method for added catalyst and continuous growth at the tip(2010-06-01) Kittrell, Carter W.; Wang, Yuhuang; Kim, Myung Jong; Hauge, Robert H.; Smalley, Richard E.; Marek, Irene Morin; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention is directed to fibers of epitaxially grown single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and methods of making same. Such methods generally comprise the steps of: (a) providing a spun SWNT fiber; (b) cutting the fiber substantially perpendicular to the fiber axis to yield a cut fiber; (c) etching the cut fiber at its end with a plasma to yield an etched cut fiber; (d) depositing metal catalyst on the etched cut fiber end to form a continuous SWNT fiber precursor; and (e) introducing feedstock gases under SWNT growth conditions to grow the continuous SWNT fiber precursor into a continuous SWNT fiber.Item Fibers of aligned single-wall carbon nanotubes and process for making the same(2006-10-24) Smalley, Richard E.; Saini, Rajesh Kumar; Sivarajan, Ramesh; Hauge, Robert H.; Davis, Virginia Angelica; Pasquali, Matteo; Ericson, Lars Martin; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe present invention involves fibers of highly aligned single-wall carbon nanotubes and a process for making the same. The present invention provides a method for effectively dispersing single-wall carbon nanotubes. The process for dispersing the single-wall carbon nanotubes comprises mixing single-wall carbon nanotubes with 100% sulfuric acid or a superacid, heating and stirring under an inert, oxygen-free environment. The single-wall carbon nanotube/acid mixture is wet spun into a coagulant to form the single-wall carbon nanotube fibers. The fibers are recovered, washed and dried. The single-wall carbon nanotubes were highly aligned in the fibers, as determined by Raman spectroscopy analysis.Item Functionalization of Nanocarbons for Composite, Biomedical and Sensor Applications(2013-07-24) Kuznetsov, Oleksandr; Billups, W. Edward; Hauge, Robert H.; Rau, CarlNew derivatives of carbon nanostructures: nanotubes, nano-onions and nanocrystalline diamonds were obtained through fluorination and subsequent functionalization with sucrose. Chemically modified nanocarbons show high solubility in water, ethanol, DMF and can be used as biomaterials for medical applications. It was demonstrated that sucrose functionalized nanostructures can find applications in nanocomposites due to improved dispersion enabled by polyol functional groups. Additionally, pristine and chemically derivatized carbon nanotubes were studied as nanofillers in epoxy composites. Carbon nanotubes tailored with amino functionalities demonstrated better dispersion and crosslinking with epoxy polymer yielding improved tensile strength and elastic properties of nanocomposites. Reductive functionalization of nanocarbons, also known as Billups reaction, is a powerful method to yield nanomaterials with high degree of surface functionalization. In this method, nanocarbon salts prepared by treatment with lithium or sodium in liquid ammonia react readily with alkyl and aryl halides as well as bromo carboxylic acids. Functionalized materials are soluble in various organic or aqueous solvents. Water soluble nanodiamond derivatives were also synthesized by reductive functionalization of annealed nanodiamonds. Nanodiamond heat pretreatment was necessary to yield surface graphene layers and facilitate electron transfer from reducing agent to the surface of nanoparticles. Other carbon materials such as activated carbon and anthracite coal were also derivatized using reductive functionalization to yield water soluble activated carbon and partially soluble in organic solvents anthracite. It was shown that activated carbon can be effectively functionalized by Billups method. New derivatives of activated carbon can improve water treatment targeting specific impurities and bio active contaminants. It was demonstrated that functionalized carbon nanotubes are suitable for real time radiation measurements. Radiation sensor incorporating derivatized carbon nanotubes is lightweight and reusable. In summary, functionalization of carbon nanomaterials opens new avenues for processing and applications ranging from biomedicine to radiation sensing in space.