Functionalized nanotubes
AssigneeHyperion Catalysis International, Inc.
InventorsAlan Fischer, Robert Hoch, David Moy, Chun-Ming Niu, Naoya Ogata, Howard Tennent
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Abstract
Graphitic nanotubes, which includes tubular fullerenes (commonly called “buckytubes”) and fibrils, which are functionalized by chemical substitution or by adsorption of functional moieties. More specifically the invention relates to graphitic nanotubes which are uniformly or non-uniformly substituted with chemical moieties or upon which certain cyclic compounds are adsorbed and to complex structures comprised of such functionalized fibrils linked to one another. The invention also relates to methods of introducing functional groups onto the surface of such fibrils.
Claims12
A method of uniformly substituting the surface of carbon fibrils with a functional group comprising
- chemically reacting non-oxidized carbon fibrils with an effective amount of a reactant capable of uniformly substituting surface carbon atoms with the same functional groups onto the surface of said carbon fibrils;
- wherein chemically reacting comprises a reaction selected from the group consisting of sulfonation, electrophilic addition, and metallation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.