Graphene nanoribbons and 2D carbon nanostructures from multiwalled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are manufactured in the solid-state by utilizing a laser to longitudinally unzip carbon nanotubes (CNTs). During this unzipping process, a continuous laser beam is used to irradiate freestanding aligned CNT sheets. The interaction between the laser beam and the CNT sheets is controlled by the laser output power and the scanning speed. These two modifiable parameters directly influence the energy absorption that occurs through the laser material interaction. High quality GNRs are achieved by additional irradiation with a relatively low energy density. This method does not use chemical to oxidize CNTs thus an additional chemical purification process is unnecessary. Furthermore, laser irradiation is used to form the covalent bonds between the carbon atoms to create the 2D GNR-CNT networks. Taking into account that freestanding CNT sheets are readily manufactured in large quantities and that lasers are the primary technology in industry, this unzipping method is readily applicable and scalable for the industrial manufacturing system.

Publication Title

CAMX 2014 - Composites and Advanced Materials Expo: Combined Strength. Unsurpassed Innovation.

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