Browsing by Author "Mirri, Francesca"

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    Carbon nanotube coating composition
    (2018-07-31) Kibe, Ryuta; Yamamoto, Takayuki; Maillaud, Laurent; Headrick, Robert James; Mirri, Francesca; Pasquali, Matteo; Rice University; Nitto Denko Corporation; United States Patent and Trademark Office
    The present invention relates to a composition comprising carbon nanotubes and a surfactant for forming a thin film on a substrate, and a method of manufacturing a thin film on a substrate by using an aqueous dispersion of the composition comprising carbon nanotubes and a surfactant.
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    Carbon nanotube woven textile photodetector
    (American Physical Society, 2018) Zubair, Ahmed; Wang, Xuan; Mirri, Francesca; Tsentalovich, Dmitri E.; Fujimura, Naoki; Suzuki, Daichi; Soundarapandian, Karuppasamy P.; Kawano, Yukio; Pasquali, Matteo; Kono, Junichiro; Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Materials Science and Nanoengineering; Physics and Astronomy
    The increasing interest in mobile and wearable technology demands the enhancement of functionality of clothing through incorporation of sophisticated architectures of multifunctional materials. Flexible electronic and photonic devices based on organic materials have made impressive progress over the past decade, but higher performance, simpler fabrication, and most importantly, compatibility with woven technology are desired. Here we report on the development of a weaved, substrateless, and polarization-sensitive photodetector based on doping-engineered fibers of highly aligned carbon nanotubes. This room-temperature-operating, self-powered detector responds to radiation in an ultrabroad spectral range, from the ultraviolet to the terahertz, through the photothermoelectric effect, with a low noise-equivalent power (a few nW/Hz1/2) throughout the range and with a ZT-factor value that is twice as large as that of previously reported carbon nanotube-based photothermoelectric photodetectors. Particularly, we fabricated a ∼1-m-long device consisting of tens of p+−p− junctions and weaved it into a shirt. This device demonstrated a collective photoresponse of the series-connected junctions under global illumination. The performance of the device did not show any sign of deterioration through 200 bending tests with a bending radius smaller than 100 μm as well as standard washing and ironing cycles. This unconventional photodetector will find applications in wearable technology that require detection of electromagnetic radiation.
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    Carbon Nanotubes and Related Nanomaterials: Critical Advances and Challenges for Synthesis toward Mainstream Commercial Applications
    (American Chemical Society, 2018) Rao, Rahul; Pint, Cary L.; Islam, Ahmad E.; Weatherup, Robert S.; Hofmann, Stephan; Meshot, Eric R.; Wu, Fanqi; Zhou, Chongwu; Dee, Nicholas; Amama, Placidus B.; Carpena-Nuñez, Jennifer; Shi, Wenbo; Plata, Desiree L.; Penev, Evgeni S.; Yakobson, Boris I.; Balbuena, Perla B.; Bichara, Christophe; Futaba, Don N.; Noda, Suguru; Shin, Homin; Kim, Keun Su; Simard, Benoit; Mirri, Francesca; Pasquali, Matteo; Fornasiero, Francesco; Kauppinen, Esko I.; Arnold, Michael; Cola, Baratunde A.; Nikolaev, Pavel; Arepalli, Sivaram; Cheng, Hui-Ming; Zakharov, Dmitri N.; Stach, Eric A.; Zhang, Jin; Wei, Fei; Terrones, Mauricio; Geohegan, David B.; Maruyama, Benji; Maruyama, Shigeo; Li, Yan; Adams, W. Wade; Hart, A. John
    Advances in the synthesis and scalable manufacturing of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) remain critical to realizing many important commercial applications. Here we review recent breakthroughs in the synthesis of SWCNTs and highlight key ongoing research areas and challenges. A few key applications that capitalize on the properties of SWCNTs are also reviewed with respect to the recent synthesis breakthroughs and ways in which synthesis science can enable advances in these applications. While the primary focus of this review is on the science framework of SWCNT growth, we draw connections to mechanisms underlying the synthesis of other 1D and 2D materials such as boron nitride nanotubes and graphene.
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    Neutron scattering and flow processing of carbon nanotube solutions for high performance transparent electrodes and data cables
    (2015-12-01) Mirri, Francesca; Pasquali, Matteo
    Since their discovery, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have received increasing attention due to their outstanding mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. In particular, research efforts have focused on transferring the properties of single CNT molecules to macroscopic objects that exhibit similar features through controlled processes. The most industrially scalable way to process CNTs is by dispersing/dissolving them into a liquid phase. Chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) has been shown to be a true solvent for CNTs and it is able to spontaneously dissolve CNTs even at high concentrations (few % by mass), allowing the fluid phase processing of CNTs for the production of fibers and films. Despite many years of research that proved the superior qualities of CSA among other solvents for CNT fluid processing, much remains unknown on the local assembly of CNTs in CSA. In this thesis, we show how small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), combined with supporting polarized optical microscopy and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, can be used to identify the local structure of CNT-CSA solutions. At very low concentrations, the SANS data show rod-like scattering patterns and confirm the efficacy of CSA as a super solvent for CNTs, whereas at high concentrations, neutron scattering allows for the determination of the local spacing of CNTs in the liquid crystalline phase. The use of CSA to dissolve CNTs opens a new route for the fabrication of CNT coatings. In this thesis we show how thin conductive CNT films from CSA solutions can be produced by scalable dip coating. This process is inherently scalable and no damage to the CNTs is induced, therefore, it is able to produce CNT films with excellent electrical properties, among the best in the literature. Dip coating of CNT-CSA solution is also a viable technique to produce the outer conductor of coaxial data cables by directly coating a solution of CNTs in CSA onto the cable inner dielectric. The high conductivity of the CNT coatings makes CNT coaxial cables an attractive alternative to commercial cables with a metal outer conductor, providing comparable cable attenuation, shielding effectiveness, and mechanical durability with a 97 % lower component mass.
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    Noncontact conductivity and dielectric measurement for high throughput roll-to-roll nanomanufacturing
    (Springer Nature, 2015) Orloff, Nathan D.; Long, Christian J.; Obrzut, Jan; Maillaud, Laurent; Mirri, Francesca; Kole, Thomas P.; McMichael, Robert D.; Pasquali, Matteo; Stranick, Stephan J.; Liddle, J. Alexander; Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Smalley-Curl Institute
    Advances in roll-to-roll processing of graphene and carbon nanotubes have at last led to the continuous production of high-quality coatings and filaments, ushering in a wave of applications for flexible and wearable electronics, woven fabrics, and wires. These applications often require specific electrical properties, and hence precise control over material micro- and nanostructure. While such control can be achieved, in principle, by closed-loop processing methods, there are relatively few noncontact and nondestructive options for quantifying the electrical properties of materials on a moving web at the speed required in modern nanomanufacturing. Here, we demonstrate a noncontact microwave method for measuring the dielectric constant and conductivity (or geometry for samples of known dielectric properties) of materials in a millisecond. Such measurement times are compatible with current and future industrial needs, enabling real-time materials characterization and in-line control of processing variables without disrupting production.