Nanotubes bundled
Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the US have developed a method of compacting carbon nanotubes into dense bundles. These bundles are efficient conductors and are seen as having the potential to replace copper as the primary interconnects in chips.
Theoretical studies show that carbon nanotubes, if packed closely enough together, should outperform copper as an electrical conductor. But scientists have been unable to successfully grow tightly packed bundles until now.
A research team, led by James Jiam-Qiang Lu, associate professor of physics and electrical engineering, and research associate Zhengchun Liu, discovered that, by immersing vertically grown carbon nanotube bundles into a liquid organic solvent and allowing them to dry, the nanotubes pull close together into a dense bundle. Lu attributes the densification process to capillary coalescence – the same principle that allows moisture to move up a piece of tissue paper dipped in water.
The process boosts the density of carbon nanotube bundles by up to 25 times.
