 | Caitlin Kowalsky The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Chemical Engineering Mentor(s)Alexander Neimark, Ph.D. John Landers Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |
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| Synthesis and Modification of Carbon Nanotube Fibers | ||
| Carbon nanotubes fibers (CNF) hold great promise for the development of novel biomedical and pharmaceutical nanotechnologies that include drug delivery, biosensors, neural transplants, and tissue engineering. CNF represent a nanostructured organic-inorganic composite system, which engineering properties can be tailored in the process of fabrication. Wet spinning for the fabrication of (CNF) involves the injection of a dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) into a rotating coagulating bath. In doing so, the fiber solidifies and after some duration the fiber is washed and extracted from the bath. It is this last step of extraction that contributes greatly to the final mechanical properties of the fiber and has yet to be investigated in the literature. By keeping all other experimental parameters constant we intend to examine the extent of which the rate of extraction has on the mechanical properties of the fiber. |