Green Technology

University of Louisville, Purdue University and Honda Research Institute have collaborated to better understand the formulation, or recipe, for manufacturing carbon nanotubes and their results will be presented in the October 2 edition of Science. This research program was started and sustained with funding by Honda. The researchers have found that the yield of nanotubes with metallic conductivity property was increased significantly through precise control of gas levels in the presence of catalyst. ...

... "Honda researchers discovered they could control whether the carbon nanotubes become metallic or semiconducting by using either argon or helium as carrier gases during the process. Researchers at UofL used the technique to make large quantities of nanotubes and precisely measure whether they were metallic or semiconducting. Purdue researchers took high-resolution images with a transmission electron microscope to help determine why the process worked. Lead UofL researcher Gamini Sumanasekera, an associate professor of physics, said he hoped the findings will renew interest in the field. " ...

Via University of Louisville: Solar cell efficiency potential through nanotech research