Buckypaper

Buckypaper is a thin sheet made from carbon nanotubes. It was fabricated in the early 1990s as a way to handle carbon nanotubes. It is being fabricated, studied, and developed into applications by several research groups and companies around the world, including Dr. Ben Wang from the Florida State University.

The material shows great promise as a building material for everything from aerospace vehicles, body armor and next-generation electronics and displays.

Background

Buckypaper is a macroscopic aggregate of carbon nanotubes, or "bucktubes". It owes its name to the Buckminster Fullerene, an allotrope of carbon with similar bonding that is sometimes referred to as a "Buckyball" in honor of R. Buckminster Fuller. Richard Smalley, Sir Harold Kroto, and Robert Curl shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of Buckminster fullerene. Their discoveries and subsequent work with carbon nanotubes led to a revolution in the fields of chemistry and materials science.

Applications

Among the possible uses for buckypaper that are being researched at FAC2T:

• If exposed to an electric charge, buckypaper could be used to illuminate computer and television screens. It would be more energy-efficient, lighter, and would allow for a more uniform level of brightness than current cathode ray tube (CRT) and liquid crystal display (LCD) technology.
• As one of the most thermally conductive materials known, buckypaper lends itself to the development of heat sinks that would allow computers and other electronic equipment to disperse heat more efficiently than is currently possible. This, in turn, could lead to even greater advances in electronic miniaturization.
• Because it has an unusually high current-carrying capacity, a film made from buckypaper could be applied to the exteriors of airplanes. Lightning strikes then would flow around the plane and dissipate without causing damage.
• Films also could protect electronic circuits and devices within airplanes from electromagnetic interference, which can damage equipment and alter settings. Similarly, such films could allow military aircraft to shield their electromagnetic "signatures," which can be detected via radar.
• Produced in high enough quantities and at an economically viable price, it could serve as an extremely effective armor plating.

See also

• Nanotechnology

External links

• FSU researcher's "buckypaper" is stronger than steel at a fraction of the weight
• Very informational article with all you need to know on buckypaper
• Buckypaper – Nanotubes on Steroids; Pictures of buckypaper and an interview with Frank Allen, Assistant Director of FACCT
• Growth of calcium phosphate mineral on carbon nanotube buckypapers