Browsing by Author "Huffman, Chad"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    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 Office
    This 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.
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    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 Office
    This 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.
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    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 Office
    This 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.
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    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 Office
    This 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.
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    Functionalized single-wall carbon nanotubes
    (2009-05-05) 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 Office
    This 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.
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    Macroscopic ordered assembly of carbon nanotubes
    (2004-09-14) Smalley, Richard E.; Colbert, Daniel T.; Smith, Kenneth A.; Walters, Deron A.; Casavant, Michael J.; Huffman, Chad; Yakobson, Boris I.; Hauge, Robert H.; Saini, Rajesh Kumar; Chiang, Wan-Ting; Rice University; United States Patent and Trademark Office
    The present invention is directed to the creation of macroscopic materials and objects comprising aligned nanotube segments. The invention entails aligning single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) segments that are suspended in a fluid medium and then removing the aligned segments from suspension in a way that macroscopic, ordered assemblies of SWNT are formed. The invention is further directed to controlling the natural proclivity of nanotube segments to self assemble into ordered structures by modifying the environment of the nanotubes and the history of that environment prior to and during the process. The materials and objects are “macroscopic” in that they are large enough to be seen without the aid of a microscope or of the dimensions of such objects. These macroscopic, ordered SWNT materials and objects have the remarkable physical, electrical, and chemical properties that SWNT exhibit on the microscopic scale because they are comprised nanotubes, each of which is aligned in the same direction and in contact with its nearest neighbors. An ordered assembly of closest SWNT also serves as a template for growth of more and larger ordered assemblies. An ordered assembly further serves as a foundation for post processing treatments that modify the assembly internally to specifically enhance selected material properties such as shear strength, tensile strength, compressive strength, toughness, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity.
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    Methods of chemically derivatizing single-wall carbon nanotubes
    (2005-01-11) 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 Office
    This 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.
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    Sidewall derivatized carbon nanotubes
    (2010-08-24) 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 Office
    This invention is directed to chemical derivatives of carbon nanotubes wherein the carbon nanotubes have a diameter up to 3 nm. In one embodiment, this invention also provides a method for preparing 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 carbon nanotubes having substituents attached to the side wall of the nanotube. The substituents are dependent on the nucleophile, and preferred nucleophiles include alkyl lithium species such as methyl lithium.