Studying one of chemistry's "super-heroes": SWNTs

INOR 623

Heather L. Rhoads, hrhoads@ou.edu1, Christopher N. Brammer2, and Donna J. Nelson, djnelson@ou.edu1. (1) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Oklahoma, 620 Parrington Oval, Norman, OK 73019, (2) School of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have what should be called “super-powers.” SWNTs are about 50 times stronger than steel, have about 1000 times the electron density of copper, and withstand 5072°F in a vacuum. SWNTs have been studied by a variety of methods, such as Raman, near-IR, UV-Vis, and TGA spectroscopy, in order to understand better what is responsible for their “super-powers” and what groups are attached to SWNTs. We have studied SWNTs by a technique which hasn't been applied to them much at all -- NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance (aka MRI magnetic resonance imaging); this is hard to do because of their nanosize and complicating nature of SWNT molecules. However, because this technique will reveal the exact structure of a group attached to a SWNT, the potential pay-offs were worth the effort. We persisted and succeeded; we will reveal the results of COSY, ROSEY, and NOSEY 1H NMR studies of several functionalized SWNT molecules and their “super-powers.”
 

Nanoscience: Synthesis and Characterization
7:00 PM-10:00 PM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster

Sci-Mix
8:00 PM-10:00 PM, Monday, August 20, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Sci-Mix

Division of Inorganic Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007