Film comprising single-layer carbon nanotubes and having dense portions and sparse portions, process for producing same, and material including said film and process for producing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9847181-B2
Application number	US-201414771626-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 3, 2014
Priority date	Mar 1, 2013
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

The present invention provides: a film that comprises single-layer carbon nanotubes having shapes which enable the characteristics thereof to be sufficiently exhibited; and a process for producing the film. The film, which comprises single-layer carbon nanotubes, has portions where single-layer carbon nanotubes are densely present and portions where single-layer carbon nanotubes are sparsely present, the dense portions forming a pseudo-honeycomb structure in a surface of the film.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for producing a film comprising single-walled carbon nanotubes, the film comprising a dense portion where the single-walled carbon nanotubes are densely present and a sparse portion where the single-walled carbon nanotubes are sparsely present, the method comprising the steps of:
A) preparing a layer comprising vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes formed on a substrate; and
B) exposing a surface of the layer comprising the single-walled carbon nanotubes to at least one vapor selected from the group consisting of water and lower alcohols, to form the dense portion where the single-walled carbon nanotubes are densely present and the sparse portion where the single-walled carbon nanotubes are sparsely present, therefrom by the dense portion to form a pseudo-honeycomb structure on the layer comprising the single-walled carbon nanotubes,
wherein the dense portion has single-walled carbon nanotubes, an axis direction of each of which is aligned vertically to the film.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising a step of C) soaking a resultant one in the step B) in water at a temperature of 60 to 100° C., to release the layer comprising the single-walled carbon nanotubes from the substrate, thereby to form the film from the released layer.

3. A method for producing a material having a film comprising single-walled carbon nanotubes, the film comprising a dense portion where single-walled carbon nanotubes are densely present and a sparse portion where single-walled carbon nanotubes are sparsely present, the method comprising the steps of:
A) preparing a layer comprising vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes formed on a substrate;
B) exposing a surface of the layer comprising the single-walled carbon nanotubes to at least one vapor selected from the group consisting of water and lower alcohols, to form the dense portion where the single-walled carbon nanotubes are densely present and the sparse portion where the single-walled carbon nanotubes are sparsely present, therefrom by the dense portion to form a pseudo-honeycomb structure on the layer comprising the single-walled carbon nanotubes;
C) soaking a resultant one in the step B) in water at a temperature of 60 to 100° C., to release the layer comprising the single-walled carbon nanotubes from the substrate, thereby to form the film from the released layer; and
D) disposing the film obtained in the step C) in a predetermined position,
wherein the dense portion has single-walled carbon nanotubes, an axis direction of each of which is aligned vertically to the film.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the material is a solar cell.

Assignees

• Univ Tokyo
• Showa Denko Kk

Inventors

• Maruyama Shigeo
• Chiashi Shohei
• Cui Kehang

Classifications

• C01B32/162

  characterised by catalysts · CPC title

• Y10S977/751

  with specified chirality and/or electrical conductivity · CPC title

• C01B2202/08

  Aligned nanotubes · CPC title

• B82Y30/00

  Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites · CPC title

• Y02E10/542

  Dye sensitized solar cells · CPC title