Mechanical and Civil Engineering Seminar

For more than two decades, widespread research has been devoted to the synthesis, characterization, and integration of carbon nanotube (CNTs), leading to commercial applications including thin-film electrodes, filtration membranes, and enhanced composites. Although CNTs no longer populate the headlines of nanotechnology, unprecedented potential remains for the use of highly organized CNTs as the building blocks for advanced surfaces, interfaces, and fibers. In our work, advanced metrology of the population-based nature of aligned CNT growth has enabled protocols for highly consistent CNT forest synthesis, along with the development of lab-scale automation and benchtop roll-to-roll CVD systems. To leverage the scalable nature of CNT synthesis as a platform for surface engineering, we have invented a strain-engineered technique for shaping CNTs into freeform three-dimensional microstructures. Conformal coating of the CNTs enables wide-range tuning of structural mechanics from those of resilient foams to high-strength solids. These combined capabilities have enabled us to engineer CNT microstructures as stamps for high-resolution flexoprinting, and as surfaces with unique biomimetic wetting behavior.