• High-conductivity polymer nanocomposites obtained by tailoring the characteristics of carbon nanotube fillers

    N. Grossiord, J. Loos, L.C. van Laake, M. Maugey, C. Zakri, C.E. Koning, A.J. Hart.  Advanced Functional Materials 18(20):3226-3234, 2008. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.200800528] [PDF]   We present a detailed study of the influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) characteristics on the electrical conductivity of polystyrene nanocomposites produced using a latex-based approach. We processed both industrially-produced multi-wall CNT (MWCNT)…

  • Exposure to nanoscale particles and fibers during fabrication and machining of hybrid CNT advanced composites

    D. Bello, B.L. Wardle, K. Ahn, N. Yamamoto, E.J. García, A.J. Hart, M.J. Ellenbecker.  Journal of Nanoparticle Research 11(1):231-249, 2009. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11051-008-9499-4] [PDF]   This study investigated airborne exposures to nanoscale particles and fibers generated during dry and wet abrasive machining of two three-phase advanced composite systems containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs), micron-diameter continuous fibers (carbon or…

  • Tuning of vertically aligned carbon nanotube diameter and areal density through catalyst pre-treatment

    G.D. Nessim, A.J. Hart, J.S. Kim, D. Acquaviva, J. Oh, C.D. Morgan, M. Seita, J.S. Leib, C.V. Thompson.  Nano Letters 8(11):3587-3593, 2008. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl801437c] [PDF]   By controlling the timing and duration of hydrogen exposure in a fixed thermal process, we tuned the diameters of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) within a vertically aligned film by a factor…

  • Welcome New Lab Members

    August 2008: Davor Copic, Erik Polsen, Michael DeVolder, and Yongyi Zhang join our group –people

  • Sabre Tube desktop CVD wins R&D100

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    SabreTube desktop CVD system wins R&D100 award as one of “100 most technologically significant new products of the year”.

  • Fabrication and characterization of ultra-high volume fraction aligned carbon nanotube polymer composites

    B.L. Wardle, D.S. Saito, E.J. García, A.J. Hart, R.G. de Villoria, E.A. Verploegen. Advanced Materials 20(14):2710-2714, 2008. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.200800295] [PDF]   Aligned CNT nanocomposites with variable volume fraction, up to 20%, are demonstrated. Biaxial mechanical densification of aligned CNT forests, followed by capillarity-driven wetting using unmodified aerospace-grade polymers, creates centimeter-scale specimens. Characterizations confirm CNT alignment and…

  • Exponential growth of LBL films with incorporated inorganic sheets

    P. Podsiadlo, M. Michel, J. Lee, E. Verploegen, N.W.S. Kam, J. Lee, Y. Qi,, A.J. Hart, P.T. Hammond, N.A. Kotov. Nano Letters 8(6):1762-1770, 2008. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nl8011648] [PDF]   The fastest growth pattern of layer-by-layer (LBL) assembled films is exponential LBL (e-LBL), which has both fundamental and practical importance. It is associated with “in-and-out” diffusion of flexible…

  • Thinking small could pay off big

    ur collaboration with Prof. Carol Livermore’s group at MIT is featured in the Boston Globe, “Thinking small could pay off big” Article

  • Joining prepreg composite interfaces with aligned carbon nanotubes

    E.J. García, B.L. Wardle, A.J. Hart.  Composites Part A 39(6):1065-1070, 2008. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.03.011] [PDF]   An interlaminar reinforcement using aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is demonstrated for prepreg unidirectional carbon tape composites. Aligned CNTs are grown at high temperature and then transfer-printed to prepreg at room temperature, maintaining CNT alignment in the through-thickness direction. In initial testing,…

  • John Hart receives DARPA Young Faculty Award

    John Hart receives DARPA Young Faculty Award

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    March 2008: John Hart receives DARPA Young Faculty Award – press release