Spin Control: New Technique Sorts Nanotubes by Length

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In a schematic of NISTs length separation technique for carbon nanotubes (l.) the nanotubes start at the bottom of a dense fluid. When spun in a centrifuge the nanotubes begin to migrate through the fluid driven by their buoyancy but the longer ones ...
In a schematic of NIST's length separation technique for carbon nanotubes (l.), the nanotubes start at the bottom of a dense fluid. When spun in a centrifuge, the nanotubes begin to migrate through the fluid driven by their buoyancy, but the longer ones move faster, spreading them out by length. Photos (r.) shows a typical sample at the start and after 94 hours of spinning at 1257 radians per second (roughly 12,000 RPM). Credit: NIST

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have reported a new technique to sort batches of carbon nanotubes by length using high-speed centrifuges. Many potential applications for carbon nanotubes depend on the lengths of these microscopic cylinders, and one of the most important features of the new technique, say the scientists, is that it should be easily scalable to produce industrial quantities of high-quality nanotubes.


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