Method for fusion of carbon nanostructures

Abstract

A method of making an assembly of fused carbon nanostructures that includes providing a plurality of carbon nanostructures, combining the plurality of carbon nanostructures with a plurality of catalyst particles to provide a catalyst-nanostructure assembly, heating the catalyst-nanostructure assembly to a first temperature sufficient to provide at least one etched portion, thereby providing an etched catalyst-nanostructure assembly, the at least one etched portion being etched from at least one of the plurality of carbon nanostructures and proximal to at least one of the plurality of catalyst particles, contacting the etched catalyst-nanostructure assembly with a carbon source, and heating the etched catalyst-nanostructure assembly and the carbon source to a second temperature sufficient to provide at least one carbon bridge.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.