Mashed Articles

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7419624.html
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7419651.html

Many of the basic fabrication methods for single walled nanotube production have come from research out of Rice University. While most of Rice’s patents have previously focused on the single walled carbon nanotube type, a recent set of issued patents based on continuations (with priority going back to the 1990’s) have extended the patent coverage to “fullerene nanotubes” which may include double or multiwall nanotubes types that are being explored as field emitters and transparent electrodes in electronics and display applications.

US Patent 7419624 – Claims 1 and 3

1. A method of producing a composite material comprising fullerene nanotube material, wherein said fullerene nanotube material comprises fibers of fullerene nanotubes, and wherein said method comprises:
(a) preparing an assembly of a fibrous material;
(b) adding said fullerene nanotube material to said fibrous material; and
(c) adding a matrix material to said fullerene nanotube material and said fibrous material.

3. A composite material comprising fullerene nanotubes, a fibrous structural constituent and a matrix material, wherein the matrix material comprises a polymer and the fibrous structural constituent comprises carbon, and wherein the fullerene nanotubes comprise fullerene nanotube fibers.

(US Patent 7419651) Claims 1 and 13

1. A three-dimensional structure that self-assembles from derivatized fullerene nanotubes comprising: a plurality of multifunctional fullerene nanotubes assembled into said three-dimensional structure.

13. A structure formed by the process comprising:
(a) providing fullerene nanotubes derivatized with at least one functionally-specific agent;
(b) exposing the derivatized nanotubes to another moiety for which the functionally-specific agent has an attraction; and
(c) recovering assemblies formed by the derivatized nanotubes.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7419650.html

For applications in hydrogen storage and as molecular sieves short length (<1 micron) carbon nanotubes have been found to have advantages over longer tube lengths for the diffusion of gases. This patent discloses a method for producing such short length CNTs. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for producing functionalised short carbon nanotubes with at least one open tip comprising mechanically treating long carbon nanotubes in a powder form, wherein a reactant gas able to chemically react with said long nanotubes is chosen and said long carbon nanotubes in a powder form are submitted to mechanical milling forces in the presence of said reactant gas so that short carbon nanotubes, comprising at least one specific chemical group, are obtained, and wherein said reactant gas is not air.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7419764.html

In order to achieve sub-100 nm processing in coming years one alternative is nanoimprint lithography. Nanoimprint lithography uses a mold to transfer a pattern onto an opposing substrate. This patent from S. Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute teaches a method for forming a nanoimprint mold using photolithography to form the larger (>100nm) features and E-beam lithography to form the nanoscopic (<100nm) surface features. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of fabricating a nanoimprint lithography (NHL) mold comprising:

forming patterns on a first substrate using an E-beam lithography (EBL) process and a photo-lithography process; and

transferring the patterns formed on the first substrate to a second substrate using a nanoimprint lithography process to complete an NIL mold.