Dr. Bruce Hinds
Dept. of Chemical & Materials Engineering
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0046
Phone: 859-218-6543
E-mail: bjhinds@engr.uky.edu
Membrane structures based on aligned carbon nanotubes crossing a solid polymer matrix have recently been developed in the Hinds' group (Science 2004) and the observation of remarkably fast fluid flow that is 10,000 x's faster than conventional predictions for nm-scale pores (Nature 2005). The three major merits of the CNT membrane structure are ; 1) an atomically smooth graphitic pore with large van der Waal distance allowing for high fluid flow rates. 2) the cutting process allows for chemistry to be placed at the entrance to CNT pores to act as a chemical 'gatekeeper' 3) conductive CNTs allow the application of bias to move charged molecules that can modulate ionic flow through the CNT (Langmuir 2007). The concept of actively blocking a CNT core will be applied to storing the high energy chemicals formed in chemical solar cells during the day, then reversing flow to retrieve the energy at the electrode when needed, including night.
mehanna@engr.uky.edu