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RESEARCH NEWS

Nanoscale pores enable fast transport

NANOTECHNOLOGY
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of
California, Berkeley have fabricated membranes
in which aligned carbon nanotubes form the
pores [Holt et al., Science (2006) 312, 1034].
Membranes offer a potentially cheaper and
more effective means of separating gases and
liquids. Most membranes are currently based on
polymeric materials, but such materials are
unsuitable for high-temperature applications
and offer an unsatisfactory tradeoff between
throughput and selectivity (i.e. high throughput
equals low selectivity and vice versa). The use of
carbon nanotubes for such membranes offers
the possibility of excellent selectivity and high
throughput.
The researchers have developed a fabrication
process for such membranes compatible with
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
Catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is
used to grow a dense, vertically aligned array of
double-walled nanotubes (DWNTs) on a Si chip.
Low-pressure CVD is then used to encapsulate
the DWNTs with a hard matrix of Si3N4. Ion
milling removes excess Si3N4 and reactive ion
etching is used to open up the ends of the
nanotubes. The result is a gap-free membrane
on a Si chip with nanotubes forming 1.3-2 nm
pores. The same method can also be used to
Photo of a membrane chip containing 89 open windows, each one
50 µm in diameter. (© 2006 Science.)
produce membranes comprising multiwalled
nanotubes (MWNTs) with larger pores.
Measurements indicate that the gas flow
through the DWNT membranes exceeds that
predicted by the standard Knudsen diffusion
model by over an order of magnitude. According
to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, this is
likely to be because of the smooth walls of the
carbon nanotubes, which change the nature of
gas-wall collisions from purely diffusive to a
combination of specular and
diffusive. The membranes also
show an enhanced water flow
of more than three orders of
magnitude greater than
expected from standard
continuum flow models. MD
simulations attribute this
enhanced flow to the
formation of water ‘wires’
inside the nanotube. The
researchers suggest, however,
that the enhanced flow could
also be caused by the
frictionless surfaces within the
tubes.
“Though our membranes have
an order of magnitude smaller
pore size, the enhanced flow
rate per pore and the high pore density makes
them superior in both air and water
permeability compared with conventional
polycarbonate membranes,” says Olgica Bakajin
of LLNL. Such improved membranes could be
used for a variety of applications from the
removal of CO2 from power plant emissions to
water desalinization.
Cordelia Sealy

Composites get tough

NANOTECHNOLOGY
Fiber-reinforced laminated composites made from
woven ceramic fibers have significant limitations -
namely poor through thickness and weak interlaminar
strength. While carbon nanotubes present an attractive
route to nanocomposites, their agglomeration and
dispersion within the matrix remain major issues.
Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa
and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have combined
these two concepts to produce a tougher,
multifunctional three-dimensional composite [Veedu
et al., Nat. Mater. (2006), doi: 10.1038/nmat1650].
To create the new composite, the researchers grew
well-aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)
on SiC two-dimensional woven fabrics in a
perpendicular direction. The fabric is infiltrated with a
high-temperature epoxy matrix and then stacked to
form a multilayer three-dimensional composite.
Chemical vapor deposition produces uniform, 60 µm
MWNTs on fabrics up to 120 mm x 40 mm, and could
be scaled up even further. The researchers suggest that
the MWNTs serve to mechanically interlock the fibers
and matrix together and between adjacent layers of
the composite structure rather like nanoscale Velcro.
“Our three-dimensional hierarchical nanocomposites
[have] better damage tolerance since we believe that
these transverse carbon nanotubes act as obstacles to
cracks and delay their formation and propagation,”
says Mehrdad N. Ghasemi-Nejhad of the University of
Hawaii at Manoa.
The addition of MWNTs gives rise to a significant
improvement in interlaminar fracture toughness of
348% over the traditional composite without carbon
nanotubes. The indentation modulus is also improved
(by ~30%), as is the in-plane strength (140%),
modulus (5%), and toughness (424%).
The composite also has improved multifunctional
performance, i.e. damping, coefficient of thermal
expansion, and thermal and electrical conductivity.
“Such three-dimensional composites can play the role
of ‘active’ composites in structural health monitoring,
where the through-thickness electrical conductivity
can be monitored for any possible crack/damage
formation and/or propagation,” explains Ghasemi-
Nejhad.
By adding carbon nanotubes in vertical arrays to
traditional fiber-reinforced ceramic composites, the
mechanical properties can be substantially improved
without affecting the in-plane properties. Their
addition also brings benefits in terms of thermal and
electrical conductivity. This use of carbon nanotubes
avoids the issues of agglomeration or dispersion in a
matrix and represents a significant opportunity for the
use of carbon nanotubes in composites.
Cordelia Sealy

JULY-AUGUST 2006 | VOLUME 9 | NUMBER 7-8 13