  Nanomaterials
and Nanoprocessing
What are Nanomaterials?
A result of precision engineering and the "science
of the impossibly small," nanomaterials are materials
with very small features on the order of 1-100 nm. For reference,
1 nm is ~4-5 orders of magnitude smaller than the diameter
of a human hair, or approximately equivalent to the length
of 4 atoms lined up in a row. The effects of atomic physics
or quantum mechanics are much more evident in the properties
of nanomaterials than bulk materials. One advantage of this
is materials with very different or enhanced properties comparied
with similar bulk materials. One area of nanotechnology CRG
is currently involved in is carbon nanotube (CNT) and carbon
nanofiber (CNF) composites and adhesives.
Carbon Nanotube or Nanofiber Composites and
Adhesives
CNT is a tubular form of carbon having a diameter
as small as 1 nm and length as long as several microns. (Larger
nanotubes with diameters in the range of 80-200 nm are referred
to as carbon nanofibers.) Due to its seamless structure, covalent
bonding and extensive π
overlap, CNT provides physical properties that are unmatched
by other materials. These properties include the stiffness
of diamond, a Young’s 1½ times that of carbon
fiber, anisotropic thermal conductivity ~50 times greater
than that of silver, electrical conductivity ~6 orders of
magnitude higher than copper, and a room-temperature mobility
higher than that of any known material.
 CRG's
Nanomaterial Expertise
Offering fundamental expertise in nanoprocessing,
CRG has developed processing techniques for CNT and CNF cleaning,
functionalizaton, and dispersion that allow many of these
properties to be incorporated in a broad range of polymer
systems, from epoxies to our own shape memory polymer (SMP)
resins. Possible applications of these materials include conducting
adhesives, shielding coatings, and lightweight, high-performance
structural materials.
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