Claims
- 1. A carbon nanotube mesh comprising:
a plurality of intertwined free-standing carbon nanotubes fixedly attached to a substrate for separating, concentrating, and/or filtering molecules flowed through said mesh.
- 2. The carbon nanotube mesh of claim 1,
wherein said carbon nanotubes extend randomly into free space from said substrate characteristic of free-growth structures.
- 3. The carbon nanotube mesh of claim 1,
wherein the surfaces of said carbon nanotubes are functionalized to chemically select/discriminate molecules.
- 4. The carbon nanotube mesh of claim 3,
wherein the surfaces of said carbon nanotubes are functionalized with a nanotube coating.
- 5. The carbon nanotube mesh of claim 4,
wherein the nanotube coating comprises a chemical derivatization.
- 6. The carbon nanotube mesh of claim 1,
wherein said carbon nanotube mesh has pore sizes of 10 to 200 nanometers.
- 7. A method of fabricating a carbon nanotube mesh, comprising:
growing a plurality of intertwined free-standing carbon nanotubes on a substrate to produce the carbon nanotube mesh fixedly attached thereto and capable of separating, concentrating, and/or filtering molecules flowed through said carbon nanotube mesh.
- 8. The method of claim 7,
wherein said carbon nanotubes are free-grown to extend randomly from the surface of said substrate into free space.
- 9. The method of claim 5,
further comprising functionalizing the surfaces of said carbon nanotubes to chemically select/discriminate molecules.
- 10. The method of claim 9,
wherein the surfaces of said carbon nanotubes are functionalized by applying a nanotube coating having the desired functionality.
- 11. The method of claim 10,
wherein the nanotube coating comprises a chemical derivatization.
- 12. The method of claim 7,
wherein said carbon nanotube mesh has pore sizes of 10 to 200 nanometers.
- 13. The method of claim 7,
further comprising depositing a CVD growth catalyst on said substrate and utilizing a CVD growth process to grow said carbon nanotube mesh.
- 14. The method of claim 13,
wherein the CVD growth process includes pyrolysis of a mixture of ethylene, hydrogen, and argon at 850 degrees Celsius.
- 15. The method of claim 14,
wherein the CVD growth catalyst is iron.
- 16. The method of claim 15,
wherein the iron catalyst is deposited as a thin film.
- 17. The method of claim 16,
wherein the thin film iron catalyst has a thickness of about 5 nanometers.
- 18. A carbon nanotube mesh produced according to the method of claim 7.
- 19. A method of separating, concentrating, and/or filtering molecules comprising:
flowing said molecules into a carbon nanotube mesh comprising a plurality of intertwined free-standing carbon nanotubes fixedly attached to a substrate, whereby said carbon nanotube mesh operates as an active medium for separating, concentrating, and/or filtering said molecules.
- 20. The method of claim 19,
wherein the flow into the carbon nanotube mesh is a pressure driven flow.
I. CLAIM OF PRIORITY IN. PROVISIONAL APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority in provisional application filed on Jul. 3, 2002, entitled “Use of Free Standing Carbon Nanotubes Arrays as Separation and Concentration Medium” serial No. 60/393,444, by inventors Bakajin et al.
Government Interests
[0002] The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. W-7405-ENG-48 between the United States Department of Energy and the University of California for the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60393444 |
Jul 2002 |
US |