• Synthesis and selection methods
• Electronic, optical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes, graphene and related devices
• Functionnalization, dispersion, processing
• Metrology and standardization
• Composites and materials science
• Other applications and industrial issues

In one promising application, researchers demonstrated the detection of specific odorous molecules with high resolution using a functionalized carbon nanotube based sensor. While the possibilities for CNT-based gas sensors are huge, the problem lies with the fabrication technologies, more specifically with a lack of technology for batch fabrication.

In order for CNT-based sensors to be able to compete with state-of-the-art CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) technology, researchers need to develop a low cost, reliable and large-scale reproducible CNT deposition process on the wafer level. Given the difficulties that they have encountered so far, scientists believe that a hybrid approach – to grow and integrate CNTs on CMOS wafers and use these CNTs to improve the performance of existing CMOS technology – could be a more realistic approach.

Researchers in the UK have presented a novel concept of wafer level localized growth of ‘spaghetti’-like CNTs on a fully processed CMOS substrate. This is the first successful proof of concept for growing CNTs at the post CMOS wafer stage. Reporting their findings in the online issue of Nanotechnology, a team from the Engineering Department at University of Cambridge and Cambridge CMOS Sensors Ltd used a standard silicon on insulator (SOI) CMOS process to fabricate the basic gas sensor (which incorporated a tungsten micro-heater and interdigitated electrodes) and on-chip circuitry from a commercial foundry.

The CNTs were grown locally and optimized on a wafer already containing CMOS circuits and devices. The researchers point out that “the integration of the two technologies – nanotechnology and conventional SOI CMOS – is of significant interest both from a device and application perspective. This is because CNTs are being used for the detection of different gases and vapours and SOI CMOS has the capability of low leakage current”.

To fabricate their gas sensor, the team used a SOI CMOS process from a commercial foundry. The SOI process handles 6 inch wafers with a 0.25 µm silicon active layer, and a 1.0 µm buried oxide layer. The device contains an embedded micro-heater and exposed interdigitated sensing electrodes. The interconnect metal (tungsten) of the high-temperature SOI process was used to form a resistive micro-heater. The use of tungsten metallization allows the device to operate at the potentially very high temperatures required for on-chip sensing material growth and gas sensor operation. The top layer of the devices is a passivated stable silicon nitride, which was etched away above the electrodes. The interdigitated sensing electrodes were formed from the top metal layer and are used to measure the change in resistance of the CNTs in the presence of a gas.

The dielectric membrane reduces the power consumption, for a given operating temperature (e.g. 500°C), while providing isolation from the electronic circuits present adjacent to the membrane. CNTs were grown onto interdigitated electrodes with tungsten micro-heater local growth at 725°C. This technique was extended to grow CNTs on more than one device to show the concept of wafer level growth by powering several micro-heaters simultaneously.

CNTs grown by this method were found through Raman spectroscopy to be practically identical and reproducible. Long term electrical resistance measurement was also carried out to check the stability of the CNTs, which is particularly useful for resistive chemical sensor applications.

Source: original article

The findings are an outcome of the NANOMMUNE (‘Comprehensive assessment of hazardous effects of engineered nanomaterials on the immune system’) project, financed under the NMP (‘Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production’) theme of the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical, engineered carbon molecules that are lighter and stronger than steel and have unique electrical properties. They are used in several areas of industry, for example in the manufacture of silicon chips, electronics and sporting goods. Carbon nanotubes are produced in large quantities, which has implications for occupational health, and are also being used in the development of new drugs and other medical applications. Their behaviour in living organisms is, therefore, an intensive area of study. NANOMMUNE researchers are seeking to fill the gaps in our knowledge of the potentially hazardous effects of engineered nanomaterials on the human immune system.

‘Previous studies have shown that carbon nanotubes could be used for introducing drugs or other substances into human cells,’ explained Dr Bengt Fadeel of the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute. ‘The problem has been not knowing how to control the breakdown of the nanotubes, which can cause unwanted toxicity and tissue damage. Our study now shows how they can be broken down biologically into harmless components.’

Recent experiments on mice have demonstrated that animals exposed to carbon nanotubes via inhalation or through injection into the abdominal cavity are not able to break down the material causing severe inflammation and changes to tissues, which in turn lead to impaired lung function and in some cases to cancer. This ‘biopersistence’ has been likened to that of asbestos; ways to neutralise the toxicity of this engineered material have been avidly sought.

The researchers examined the effects of an enzyme called myeloperoxidase (MPO), which is found in white blood cells (neutrophils), on carbon nanotubes both in vitro and in mice. They discovered that the enzyme can indeed break the nanotubes down into carbon and water. Once broken down they ceased to have an inflammatory effect in the lungs of mice.

‘This means that there might be a way to render carbon nanotubes harmless, for example in the event of an accident at a production plant,’ said Dr Fadeel. ‘But the findings are also relevant to the future use of carbon nanotubes for medical purposes.’ The researchers speculated that the lung inflammation seen in mice exposed to carbon nanotubes may have to do with the very high concentrations used, which may have overwhelmed the biodegradation capacity of the neutrophil enzymatic system. The new understanding of hMPO-mediated biodegradation of this promising material paves the way for its use in biomedical applications such as the delivery of drugs ‘when used at appropriate and readily degradable concentrations’.

Source: original article

The phenomenon, described as thermopower waves, “opens up a new area of energy research, which is rare,” says Michael Strano, who was the senior author of a paper describing the new findings that appeared in Nature Materials. The lead author was Wonjoon Choi, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering.

A carbon nanotube (shown in the illustration made by Christine Daniloff) can produce a very rapid wave of power when it is coated by a layer of fuel and ignited, so that heat travels along the tube. Like a collection of flotsam propelled along the surface by waves travelling across the ocean, it turns out that a thermal wave — a moving pulse of heat — travelling along a microscopic wire can drive electrons along, creating an electrical current.

The key ingredient in the recipe is carbon nanotubes — submicroscopic hollow tubes made of a chicken-wire-like lattice of carbon atoms. These tubes, just a few nanometers in diameter, are part of a family of novel carbon molecules, including buckyballs and graphene sheets.

In the new experiments, each of these electrically and thermally conductive nanotubes was coated with a layer of a reactive fuel that can produce heat by decomposing. This fuel was then ignited at one end of the nanotube using either a laser beam or a high-voltage spark, and the result was a fast-moving thermal wave travelling along the length of the carbon nanotube like a flame speeding along the length of a lit fuse. Heat from the fuel goes into the nanotube, where it travels thousands of times faster than in the fuel itself. As the heat feeds back to the fuel coating, a thermal wave is created that is guided along the nanotube. With a temperature of 3 000 kelvins, this ring of heat speeds along the tube 10 000 times faster than the normal spread of this chemical reaction. The heating produced by that combustion, it turns out, also pushes electrons along the tube, creating a substantial electrical current.

Combustion waves — like this pulse of heat hurtling along a wire — “have been studied mathematically for more than 100 years,” Strano says, but he was the first to predict that such waves could be guided by a nanotube or nanowire and that this wave of heat could push an electrical current along that wire. In the group’s initial experiments, Strano says, when they wired up the carbon nanotubes with their fuel coating in order to study the reaction, “we were really surprised by the size of the resulting voltage peak” that propagated along the wire.

After further development, the system now puts out energy, in proportion to its weight, about 100 times greater than an equivalent weight of lithium-ion battery. The amount of power released, he says, is much greater than that predicted by thermoelectric calculations. While many semiconductor materials can produce an electric potential when heated, through something called the Seebeck effect, that effect is very weak in carbon. “There’s something else happening here,” he says. “We call it electron entrainment, since part of the current appears to scale with wave velocity.”

The thermal wave, he explains, appears to be entraining the electrical charge carriers (either electrons or electron holes) just as an ocean wave can pick up and carry a collection of debris along the surface. This important property is responsible for the high power produced by the system, Strano says. Because this is such a new discovery, he says, it’s hard to predict exactly what the practical applications will be. But he suggests that one possible application would be in enabling new kinds of ultra-small electronic devices — for example, devices the size of grains of rice, perhaps with sensors or treatment devices that could be injected into the body. Or it could lead to “environmental sensors that could be scattered like dust in the air,” he says.

In theory, he says, such devices could maintain their power indefinitely until used, unlike batteries whose charges leak away gradually as they sit unused. And while the individual nanowires are tiny, Strano suggests that they could be made in large arrays to supply significant amounts of power for larger devices. The researchers also plan to pursue another aspect of their theory: that by using different kinds of reactive materials for the coating, the wave front could oscillate, thus producing an alternating current. That would open up a variety of possibilities, Strano says, because alternating current is the basis for radio waves such as cell phone transmissions, but present energy-storage systems all produce direct current. “Our theory predicted these oscillations before we began to observe them in our data,” he says.

Also, the present versions of the system have low efficiency, because a great deal of power is being given off as heat and light. The team plans to work on improving that efficiency.

Source: original article

TEM image of the CNT core-in-hematite shell structures. (Image: Dr. Choi, KBSI)

Numerous nanomaterials are in various stages of research and development, each possessing unique functionalities that are potentially applicable to the remediation of industrial wastewater, groundwater, surface water and drinking water. The main goal for most of this research is to develop low-cost and environmentally friendly materials for removal of heavy metals from water.

Drinking or ground water could be contaminated by heavy metal ions such as lead, chromium, and arsen discarded from industrial waste water. These heavy metal ions are regarded as highly toxic pollutants which could cause a wide range of health problem in case of a long-term accumulation in the body.

Among various candidates, hierarchically structured metal oxide materials have been widely used as removal agents for various heavy metal ions and their removal capacity was found to be relatively reliable. In the case of metal oxide species, the removal mechanism for heavy metal ions is thought to be the formation of a strong bond between metal ions and metal oxide surfaces. This strong complex formation is advantageous for complete removal of heavy metal ions but it presents a drawback if one wants to design a reusable agent by reviving the reaction site for heavy metal ions. Precisely because the removal mechanism is based on the strong complex formation between metal ions and oxide surfaces, recycling of these removal agents has proved to be difficult.

It still remains a great challenge to regenerate the active surface after a metal ion complexion reaction. If one could build a recyclable agent for removal of heavy metal ions this would be a very beneficial way to reduce the cost for purification of water and an environmental-friendly way to use of materials at the same time. Offering a potential solution, researchers in South Korea have demonstrated a recyclable removal agent for heavy metal ions by fabricating a core-in-shell structure based on a core of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and an iron oxide (hematite) microcapsule structure (the shell) – a structure they refer to as CNT core-in-hematite shell capsule.

As Won San Choi, a professor at the Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) explains, this kind of core-in shell structures could be a promising candidate for removing heavy metal ions due to two main reasons:

• core structures can provide a high surface area where functional groups can react with heavy metal ions;
• shell structures can provide a mechanical robustness against wear and tear, and facile mass transportation.

“An additional remarkable advantage of core-in-shell structures is that aggregation of cores after reaction can be avoided by shell structures,” says Choi. “The carbon nanotubes inside the capsules can be reconfigured from a conglomerate to individual nanotubes by heat treatment and sonication. The metal ions adsorbed onto the CNT cores could be reversibly desorbed upon exposure to a low pH, thus the resulting capsules could be used as an efficient, reusable agent for heavy metal ion removal. Since the hematite shell could provide protection against massive aggregation of each CNT cores upon ion complexation, the resulting capsule structures could be an excellent candidate for heavy metal ions removal.”

This protocol, reported in Advanced Functional Materials, opens a promising route for the preparation of feasible, environmental friendly – and most importantly – reusable agent for heavy metal ion removal. To fabricate their core-in-shell capsules, Choi and his team formed spherical CNT aggregates which were individually encapsulated into the interior of the hematite capsule. By repetitive cycles of sonication and heat treatment, the encapsulated CNT cores showed reversible disassembly and assembly within the capsules.

“The CNTs inside the capsules enabled lead or chromium ions to be easily adsorbed, and exposure to a low pH resulted in desorption of the heavy metal ions” says Choi. “We have now demonstrated one application of this kind of core-in-shell microcapsules as a removal agent for heavy metal ions. But, this kind of structure also could be used for many potential applications including chemical sensors, microreactors, catalysts, drug carriers, and encapsulation studies.”

Source: original article

Conference Scope

Carbon nanotubes have many fascinating properties, owing to their quasi one-dimensional structure. This creates a wide range of issues for fundamental research, as well as a wealth of opportunities for technological application. Progress in the field over the past few years has been remarkable, and applications for this unique material are starting to make the move from the laboratory into the mainstream. In the tradition of the NT conference series, this meeting will bring leading researchers in the area of nanotube science and technology together to evaluate the current state of the art and to identify current trends. The conference will encompass the frontiers of fundamental science as well as applied research, and will enable and encourage participants to exchange their latest ideas and results.

Topics receiving special attention include:

• Mechanical properties of nanotubes and nanotube-based composites
• Electronic properties of nanotubes and nanotube-based electronic devices
• Optical characterization and optical properties
• Progress in synthesis
• Purification and sorting of nanotubes
• Chemical processing and modification of nanotubes
• Applications for nanotubes

From June 27 to July 2, 2010 in Montreal (Canada)
Official website: NT10

Format of the Conference

The main “general session” of the NT10 conference is 4 days long with a combination of invited talks (5 keynotes and 10 invited), contributed presentations (about 25 selected from submitted abstracts), and poster sessions (6 sessions).

Preceding the main conference are 4 satellite workshops, each up to 2 days long, addressing specific topics, and each with additional invited talks and contributed talks selected from submitted abstracts.

Also preceding the main conference is a tutorial session intended primarily for graduate students. At the poster sessions, there will also be exhibitors displaying materials and equipment of interest to nanotube researchers.

Past Conferences

NT99: Michigan State University, USA
NT01: Potsdam, Germany
NT02: Boston College, USA
NT03: Seoul National University, Korea
NT04: San Luis Potosi, Mexico
NT05: Göteborg, Sweden
NT06: Nagano, Japan
NT07: Ouro Preto, Brazil
NT08: Montpellier, France
NT09: Beijing, China

An educational webinar from Materials Today is coming soon:

• Topic: Introduction to Raman Spectroscopy as a Characterization Tool for Graphene and Carbon Nanostructures
• When: Tuesday March 9th, 2010
• Time: 16h00 GMT, 11h00 EST
• Duration: 1 hour

Registration is free. Simply, follow this link to reserve your place.

Raman spectroscopy is a laser light scattering technique, if you like a form of vibrational spectroscopy that records vibrations of covalent bonds and provides detailed molecular information, ideal in the elucidation of carbon nanomaterials.

There are references to the use of carbon nanomaterials in just about every area of material science today because of the amazing range of properties offered by these materials. Raman spectroscopy has emerged from this early work as one of the key characterization tools for understanding this novel class of material. This webinar will introduce you to what Raman spectroscopy can tell you about carbon nanotubes, graphene, and other carbon nanomaterials.

If you are working with Carbon nanomaterials or looking to begin working with Carbon nanomaterials and you are not familiar with Raman spectroscopy then this webinar would be a great way to learn about what Raman can offer to Carbon nanomaterial characterization.

Figure 1: Geometric structure of nanotubes

The discovery of carbon nanotubes in 1991, by the japanese researcher Sumio Iijima, during the study of fullerenes (C60) synthesis reveals a new cristalline form of carbon. These cylindric structures of carbon consist of a graphitic plane rolled into a tube having a nanometric diameter (10^-9 meter = 1 nanometer) and can be divided in two groups: single wall carbon nanotubes (C-SWNT) and multi-walls carbon nanotubes (C-MWNT).

Figure 2: Schematic of C-SWNT and C-MWNT

The amazing properties of carbon nanotubes have motivated an intense scientific research effort. Indeed, this material presents outstanding mechanical, electrical, thermal and chemical properties: 100 times stronger than steel, best field emission emitter, can maintain current density of more than 10⁹ A/cm², thermal conductivity comparable to that of diamond. Such properties could lead to the development of many applications as field emission device (flat screen displays), composite materials, conductive polymers, sensors,etc.

Figure 3: Carbon nanotubes pictures (left) C-SWNT deposit obtained with plasma torch, bundles diameter of 10-15 nm (right) C-MWNT on carbon paper, diameter of 20-100nm.

Present state of production techniques

The major obstacle to the development of these technological applications to a commercial scale is the poor yield of conventionnal production processes, (electrical arc, CVD, laser vaporization), the high production cost and also the lack of understanding of the nucleation of the C-SWNT and C-MWNT. Keeping in mind this problematic, Olivier Smiljanìc and professor Barry L. Stansfield, of the INRS-EMT (Energy, Materials and Telecommunication), developed a new synthesis process based on an atmospheric plasma torch.^[1,2] This process has the advantage to be continuous and also to be scalable to a commercial production.

Frédéric Larouche contribute to the process improvement by developing a recuperation system of the C-SWNT.

A new growth mechanism: the BMI model

We believe the comprehension of the carbon nanotubes growth mecanism is an unavoidable question for a fair control of the C-SWNT production. Several models have been proposed in the last few years to explain the growth of single-walled carbon nanotubes. They have succeeded in clarifying the role of the catalyst in the growth of nanotubes and the general scenario leading to their growth.

However, the nucleation process of the nanotubes at the surface of the catalyst is still a problem. The last models^[3,4] have suggested that an instability present at the surface of the catalyst (similar to those involved in solidification processes in crystal growth) could be responsible for this phenomenon. Since this hypothesis has been presenting some problems, we recently suggested a new idea, the BMI model.^[5]

In this new model, it is proposed that an hydrodynamical instability, -the Bénard-Marangoni instability- could be generated at the surface of the catalyst, explaining both the nucleation process and the bundle structure of single-walled carbon nanotubes observed in experiments. The segregation process of carbon towards the surface of the catalyst, invoked in the previous models to explain the growth in a general way, would be responsible for the formation of a nanometric liquid layer, supersaturated in carbon, at the surface of the catalyst. Then, the conditions present in the synthesis of the nanotubes could allow the instability to be generated in this layer in order to form a pattern of hexagonal convection cells, which would be responsible for the collective growth of the nanotubes, one nanotube per cell.

Figure 4: Growth of a nanotube bundle within an hexagonal pattern of convection cells generated by a Bénard-Marangoni instability

Our aim is to reinforce this hypothesis by developping the mathematical background behind the model. First, we proceeded to a linear stability analysis of the flow at the surface of the catalyst to determine if the Bénard-Marangoni instability (solutal type) could be generated in the conditions of synthesis, this for a plane and spherical geometry. Then, we have done a nonlinear stability analysis of the flow in order to determine if a pattern of hexagonal convection cells was favored in these conditions (in the same geometries). These analyses have revealed themselves to be clearly positive from a theoritical point of view.^[6] Numerical simulations could be done to investigate further this hypothesis.

Literature

[1] O. Smiljanìc, T. Dellero, A. Serventi, G. Lebrun, B.L. Stansfield, J.-P. Dodelet, M. Trudeau and S. Désilets, Growth of carbon nanotubes on Ohmically heated carbon paper, Chem. Phys. Lett. 342 (2001), 503-509. (pdf)

[2] O. Smiljanìc, B.L. Stansfield, J.-P. Dodelet, A. Serventi and S. Désilets, Gas-phase synthesis of SWNT by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet, Chem. Phys. Lett. 356 (2002), 189-193. (pdf)

[3] J. Gavillet et al., Microscopic mechanisms for the catalyst assisted growth of single-wall carbon nanotubes, Carbon 40 (2002), 1649-1663.

[4] J. Gavillet et al., Nucleation and growth of single-walled nanotubes: the role of metallic catalysts, J. Nanosci. Nanotech. 4 (2004), 346-359.

[5] F. Larouche, O. Smiljanìc, X. Sun and B.L. Stansfield, Solutal Bénard-Marangoni instability as a growth mechanism for single-walled carbon nanotubes, Carbon 43 (2005), 986-993. (abstract) (pdf)

[6] F. Larouche, J. Duquette, L. Cortelezzi, B.L. Stansfield and N. Nigam, Nucleation and growth of bundles of single-wall carbon nanotubes (C-SWNTs): the Bénard-Marangoni Instability (BMI) model, Preprint at LANL. (pdf)

Authors: Frédéric Larouche et Jonathan Duquette

The automobile fleet is contributing significantly to air quality degradation in large cities. The use of hydrogen as a fuel is interesting since combustion delivers a lot of energy without polluting. However, some obstacles, like the efficient storage of this gas, remain before it can be implemented in the transportation industry.

Figure 1: Hydrogen powered car built by BMW

Hydrogen storage solutions

The United States Department of energy (DOE) has fixed two targets for hydrogen storage solutions applied to automotive transportation. The first target requires a ratio of hydrogen weight / tank weight that is superior to 0,065 (6,5% weight). This target limits the weight of the tank. The second target requires a hydrogen volumetric density higher than 62 kg/m in order to limit the volume of the tank.

Four main solutions were proposed to solve this problem:

• Compression or liquefaction of hydrogen
• Metal hydrides
• Chemical tanks
• Adsorbent materials

Figure 2 shows the commercially available solutions. Each one is compared to the DOE targets. To satisfy both targets, a solution must be located in the grey region of the graph. Carbon nanostructures are not displayed on the graph since they are not readily available in the market at the moment.

Figure 2: Comparison of storage solutions available on the market

Carbon nanotubes

Solid state carbon may exist under three different crystaline forms named allotropes. Diamond and graphene, are the two well known allotropes. The third allotrope is called fullerene. It is a new class of material which is formed by a spherical or cylindrical wrapping of graphene sheets.

Nanotubes are fullerenes formed by graphene sheets wrapped as shown in Figure 3. The diameter of those tubes can be as small as 1 nm.

Figure 3: Representation of the carbon nanotube structures

The porosity of nanotubes is large. This property enables the adsorption of various gases including hydrogen.

Hydrogen storage in carbon nanostructures

Experimental results obtained in the evaluation of hydrogen storage capacity of carbon nanotubes vary significantly from one research team to another. Some groups (Dillon et al., Chambers et al.) obtained results indicating this material allows to reach DOE targets. Others (Ahn et al., Hirscher et al.), are indicating the contrary.

We chose to evaluate the storage capacity of nanotubes with Monte-Carlo numerical simulations. Our results indicate that carbon single-walled nanotubes can store 0.22% to 0.79% weight (3.95 to 7.94 kg/m) of hydrogen at room temperature and under a pressure of 10 MPa.

Figure 4: Simulation of the interaction between nanotubes (20,0) and hydrogen

Conclusion

Our results indicate that carbon nanostructures are falling short of the DOE targets. Such structure as thus more likely to be inappropriate for hydrogen storage in transport applications. However, we obtained interresting results by including the effect of impurities dispersed in nanotubes. We invite you to consult those papers to learn more about this subject:

P. Guay, Modélisation Monte-Carlo de l’adsorption de l’hydrogène dans les nanostructures de carbone, INRS-EMT, Montréal, 2003 (pdf)

P. Guay, B. L. Stansfield and A. Rochefort, On the Control of Carbon Nanostructures for Hydrogen Storage Applications, Carbon 42 (2004), 2187-2193 (abstract) (pdf)

A review of the literature is also available for consultation.

Author : Patrice Guay

Reference books

R. Saito, G. Dresselhaus and M. S. Dresselhaus, Physical Properties of carbon nanotubes, Imperial College Press, Londres, 1998

G. Gao, T. Cagin and W. A. Goddard III, Energetics, Structure, Mechanical and Vibrational Properties of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT), Foresight Institute, 1997 (pdf©)

D. Frenkel and B. Smit, Understanding molecular simulation: from algorithms to applications, Academic Press, San Diego, 1996

C. Ngô and H. Ngô, Physique statistique, Masson, Paris, 1995

R. A. Oriani, The physical and metallurgical aspects of hydrogen in metals, Fourth International Conference on Cold Fusion, 1993 (pdf)

Nanotube fabrication methods

S. Iijima, Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon, Nature 354 (1991), 56-58 (pdf©)

S. Iijima and T. Ichihashi, Single-shell carbon nanotubes of 1-nm diameter, Nature 363 (1993), 603-605 (pdf©)

A. Thess, R. Lee, P. Nikolaev, H. Dai, P. Petit, J. Robert, C. Xu, Y. H. Lee, S. G. Kim, A. G. Rinzler, D. T. Colbert, G. E. Scuseria, D. Tománek, J. E. Fischer and R. E. Smalley, Crystalline Ropes of Metallic Carbon Nanotubes, Science 273 (1996), 483-487 (pdf©)

P. Nikolaev, M. J. Bronikowski, R. K. Bradley, F. Rohmund, D. T. Colbert, K. A. Smith and R. E. Smalley, Gas-phase Catalytic Growth of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Carbon Monoxide, Chem. Phys. Lett. 313 (1999), 91-97 (pdf©)

O. Smiljanìc, B. L. Stansfield, J.-P. Dodelet, A. Serventi and S. Désilets, Gas-phase synthesis of SWNT by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet, Chem. Phys. Lett. 356 (2002), 189-193 (pdf©)

P. E. Anderson and N. M. Rodriguez, Growth of graphite nanofibers from the decomposition of CO/H2 over silica-supported iron-nickel particles, J. Mater. Res. 14 (1999), 2912-2921 (pdf©)

C. Singh, T. Quested, C. B. Boothroyd, P. Thomas, I. A. Kinloch, A. I. Abou-Kandil and A. H. Windle, Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon Nanofibers Produced by the Floating Catalyst Method, J. Phys. Chem. B 106 (2002), 10915-10922 (pdf©)

Review of hydrogen storage

P. Harcouët and J. Demoment, Comment stocker l’hydrogène sûrement et efficacement?, Clefs CEA 44 (Hiver 2000-2001), 68-72 (pdf)

K. Atkinson, S. Roth, M. Hirscher and W. Grünwald, Carbon nanostructures : An efficient hydrogen storage medium for fuel cells?, Fuel Cells Bulletin 38 (2001), 9-12 (pdf©)

R. Dagani, Tempest in a tiny tube, Chem. Eng. News 25 vol. 2 (2002), 25-28 (pdf©)

F. L. Darkrim, P. Malbrunot and G. P. Tartaglia, Review of hydrogen storage by adsorption in carbon nanotubes, Intl. J. Hydrogen Energy 27 (2002), 193-202 (pdf©)

Experimental measure of hydrogen adsorption in carbon nanostructures

A. C. Dillon, K. M. Jones, T. A. Bekkedahl, C. H. Kiang, D. S. Bethune and M. J. Heben, Storage of hydrogen in single-walled carbon nanotubes, Nature 386 (1997), 377-379 (pdf©)

A. Chambers, C. Park, R. T. K. Baker and N. M. Rodriguez, Hydrogen Storage in Graphite Nanofibers, J. Phys. Chem. B 102 (1998), 4253-4256 (pdf©)

C. C. Ahn, Y. Ye, B. V. Ratnakumar, C. Witham, R. C. Bowman and B. Fultz, Hydrogen desorption and adsorption measurements on graphite nanofibers, Appl. Phys. Lett. 73 (1998), 3378-3380 (pdf©)

Y. Ye, C. C. Ahn, C. Witham, B. Fultz, J. Liu, A. G. Rinzler, D. Colbert, K. A. Smith and R. E. Smalley, Hydrogen adsorption and cohesive energy of single-walled carbon nanotubes, Appl. Phys. Lett. 74 (1999), 2307-2309 (pdf©)

C. Liu, Y. Y. Fan, M. Liu, H. T. Cong, H. M. Cheng and M. S. Dresselhaus, Hydrogen storage in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes at Room Temperature, Science 286 (1999), 1127-1129 (pdf©)

X. B. Wu, P. Chen, J. Lin and K. L. Tan, Hydrogen uptake by carbon nanotubes, Intl. J. Hydrogen Energy 25 (2000), 261-265 (pdf©)

F. E. Pinkerton, B. G. Wicke, C. H. Olk, G. G. Tibbetts, G. P. Meisner, M. S. Meyer and J. F. Herbst, Thermogravimetric Measurement of Hydrogen Absorption in Alkali-Modified Carbon Materials, J. Phys. Chem. B 104 (2000), 9460-9467 (pdf©)

M. Hirscher, M. Becher, M. Haluska, U. Dettlaff-Weglikowska, A. Quintel, G. S. Duesberg, Y.-M. Choi, P. Downes, M. Hulman, S. Roth, I. Stepanek and P. Bernier, Hydrogen storage in sonicated carbon materials, Appl. Phys. A 72 (2001), 129-132 (pdf©)

M. Hirscher, M. Becher, M. Haluska, A. Quintel, V. Skakalova, Y.-M. Choi, U. Dettlaff-Weglikowska, S. Roth, I. Stepanek, P. Bernier, A. Leonhardt and J. Fink, Hydrogen storage in carbon nanostructures, J. Alloys & Compounds 330-332 (2002), 654-658 (pdf©)

P. Bénard and R. Chahine, Determination of the Adsorption Isotherms of Hydrogen on Activated Carbons above the Critical Temperature of the Adsorbate over Wide Temperature and Pressure Ranges, Langmuir 17 (2001), 1950-1955 (pdf©)

Theoretical measure of hydrogen adsorption in carbon nanostructures

P. Guay, B. L. Stansfield and A. Rochefort On the control of carbon nanostructures for hydrogen storage applications, Carbon 42 (2004), 2187-2193 (pdf)

P. Guay, Introduction à l’étude par modélisation numérique de l’adsorption de l’hydrogène dans les nanostructures de carbone, 2001 (pdf)

P. Guay, Validation du modèle utilisé pour l’étude par simulations moléculaires de l’adsorption d’hydrogène par les nanotubes de carbone, 2001 (pdf)

P. Guay, Modélisation Monte-Carlo de l’adsorption de l’hydrogène dans les nanostructures de carbone, INRS-EMT, Montréal, 2003 (pdf)

P. Guay, Improved adsorption capacity of doped carbon nanotube bundles, NT’02 Conference, 2002 (pdf)

H. Cheng, G. P. Pez and A. C. Cooper, Mechanism of Hydrogen Sorption in Single-Waled Carbon Nanotubes, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 123 (2001), 5845-5846 (pdf©)

H. Dodziuk and G. Dolgonos, Molecular modeling study of hydrogen storage in carbon nanotubes, Chem. Phys. Lett. 356 (2002), 79-83 (pdf©)

Q. Wang and J. K. Johnson, Molecular simulation of hydrogen adsorption in single-walled carbon nanotubes and idealized carbon slit pores, J. Chem. Phys. 110 (1999), 577-586 (pdf©)

K. A. Williams and P. C. Eklund, Monte Carlo simulations of H2 physisorption in finite-diameter carbon nanotube ropes, Chem. Phys. Lett. 320 (2000), 352-358 (pdf©)

F. Darkrim and D. Levesque, High Adsorptive Property of Opened Carbon Nanotubes at 77 K, J. Phys. Chem. B 104 (2000), 6773-6776 (pdf©)

F. Darkrim and D. Levesque, Monte Carlo simulations of hydrogen adsorption in single-walled carbon nanotubes, J. Chem. Phys. 109 (1998), 4981-4984 (pdf©)

V. V. Simonyan, P. Diep and J. K. Johnson, Molecular simulation of hydrogen adsorption in charged single-walled carbon nanotubes, J. Chem. Phys. 111 (1999), 9778-9783 (pdf©)

P. A. Gordon and R. B. Saeger, Molecular Modeling of Adsorptive Energy Storage: Hydrogen Storage in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 38 (1999), 4647-4655 (pdf©)

M. Rzepka, R. Lamp and M. A. de la Casa-Lillo, Physisorption of Hydrogen on Microporous Carbon and Carbon Nanotubes, J. Phys. Chem. B 102 (1998) 10894-10898 (pdf©)

Q. Wang and J. K. Johnson, Computer Simulations of Hydrogen Adsorption on Graphite Nanofibers, J. Phys. Chem. B 103 (1999), 277-281 (pdf©)

Software

B. Smit and J. I. Siepmann, Computer simulations of the energetics and siting of n-alkanes in zeolites, J. Phys. Chem. 98 (1994), 8442-8452 (pdf©)

B. Smit, S. Karaborni and J. I. Siepmann, Computer simulations of vapour-liquid phase equilibria on n-alkanes, J. Chem. Phys. 102 (1995), 2126-2140

B. Smit, S. Karaborni and J. I. Siepmann, Erratum : Computer simulations of vapour-liquid phase equilibria on n-alkanes, J. Chem. Phys. 109 (1999), 352 (pdf©)

T. J. H. Vlugt, R. Krishna and B. Smit, Molecular simulation of adsorption isotherms for linear and branched alkanes and their mixtures in silicalite, J. Phys. Chem. B 103 (1999), 1102-1118 (pdf©)

Other interaction potentials

D. W. Brenner, Empirical potential for hydrocarbons for use in simulating the chemical vapor deposition of diamond films, Phys. Rev. B 42 (1990), 9458-9471 (pdf©)

D. W. Brenner, Erratum : Empirical potential for hydrocarbons for use in simulating the chemical vapor deposition of diamond films, Phys. Rev. B 46 (1992), 1948 (pdf©)

S. J. Stuart, A. B. Tutein and J. A. Harrison, A reactive potential for hydrocarbons with intermolecular interactions, J. Chem. Phys. 112 (2000), 6472-6486 (pdf©)