Methods of making and purifying carbon nanotubes
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorKeith D. Humfeld
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Abstract
In one aspect, methods of making semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes are described herein. In some implementations, a method of making semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes comprises providing a plurality of semiconducting nanotube seeds including (n,m) nanotube seeds and non-(n,m) nanotube seeds. The method further comprises illuminating the plurality of nanotube seeds with a first laser beam having a first wavelength and a second laser beam having a second wavelength, the second wavelength differing from the first wavelength. The first wavelength corresponds to an absorption maximum for a (n,m) carbon nanotube and the second wavelength corresponds to a photoluminescence emission frequency for the (n,m) carbon nanotube.
Claims9
A method of purifying a population of carbon nanotubes comprising:
- illuminating a population of carbon nanotubes including semiconducting (n,m) carbon nanotubes and non-(n,m) carbon nanotubes with a first laser beam having a first wavelength and a second laser beam having a second wavelength, the second wavelength differing from the first wavelength;
- selectively heating the (n,m) carbon nanotubes into a carbon nanotube degradation regime;
- and
- growing the non-(n,m) carbon nanotubes in a carbon nanotube growth regime,
- wherein the carbon nanotubes were grown from carbon nanotube seeds;
- wherein the first wavelength corresponds to an absorption maximum of the (n,m) carbon nanotubes;
- wherein the second wavelength corresponds to a photoluminescence emission frequency of the (n,m) carbon nanotubes;
- and
- wherein the non-(n,m) carbon nanotubes are not heated into the carbon nanotube degradation regime but instead occupy the carbon nanotube growth regime.
A method of purifying a population of carbon nanotubes comprising:
- illuminating a population of carbon nanotubes including semiconducting first (n,m) carbon nanotubes, second (n,m) carbon nanotubes, and non-(n,m) carbon nanotubes with a first laser beam having a first wavelength, a second laser beam having a second wavelength, a third laser beam having a third wavelength, and a fourth laser beam having a fourth wavelength;
- selectively heating the first (n,m) carbon nanotubes into a carbon nanotube degradation regime;
- and
- growing the non-(n,m) carbon nanotubes in a carbon nanotube growth regime,
- wherein the carbon nanotubes were grown from carbon nanotube seeds;
- wherein the first (n,m) carbon nanotubes and the second (n,m) carbon nanotubes have differing sets of (n,m) values;
- wherein the first wavelength corresponds to an absorption maximum of the first (n,m) carbon nanotubes;
- wherein the second wavelength corresponds to a photoluminescence emission frequency of the first (n,m) carbon nanotubes;
- wherein the second wavelength differs from the first wavelength;
- wherein the third wavelength corresponds to an absorption maximum of the second (n,m) carbon nanotubes;
- wherein the fourth wavelength corresponds to a photoluminescence emission frequency of the second (n,m) carbon nanotubes;
- wherein the fourth wavelength differs from the third wavelength;
- and
- wherein the non-(n,m) carbon nanotubes are not heated into the carbon nanotube degradation regime but instead occupy the carbon nanotube growth regime.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.