1. The challenge is to self-assemble straight nanotubes all exactly the same diameter (and chirality) and the same length

2. Paper straws – all same diameter

3. Paper straws – all same diameter
Stuck together

4. Paper straws – all same diameter
Stuck together
Perfect hexagonal packing

5. Paper straws – all same diameter
Stuck together
Perfect hexagonal packing
Weak (Postit?) glue

6. Paper straws – all same diameter
Stuck together
Perfect hexagonal packing
Weak (Postit?) glue
Intinsically very strong

7. The tubes stick together by their intrinsic “glue”
Van der Waal’s Forces

8. A bundle of 1015 - a thousand million million tubes

9. Double Wallled NanoTubes by CCVD
Hexagonal packing
11.57nm
Double Wallled NanoTubes by CCVD
Endo et al., Nature 433, 476 (2005)

12. This material will be 100 x stronger than steel and 1/6th the weight

14. a thousand million million tubes
A bundle of – 1,000,000,000,000,000
a thousand million million tubes

15. It may be possible to anneal them out

16. Defects will not propagate

19. High purity DWNT by CCVD Method,
by M. Endo et al., Nature 433, 476 (2005)
11.57nm
Hexagonal packing structure

20. Coalescence acceleration by boron doping
Without boron addition
With boron addition
50 nm
50 nm
HTT1500
5 nm
5 nm
M. Endo et al., Nano Lett., 5, 1099 (2005)

21. By M.Endo

22. Cross-section of a bundle of single walled nanotubes
Thess et al Nature

23. Cross-section of a bundle of single walled nanotubes
Thess et al Nature

24. 1.4nm

25. SWNT Bundles

26. The challenge is to self-assemble straight nanotubes all exactly the same diameter (and chirality) and the same length