@article{90d335b6b445441bb332b81c59cfd22f,
title = "Covalently bonded three-dimensional carbon nanotube solids via boron induced nanojunctions",
abstract = "The establishment of covalent junctions between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the modification of their straight tubular morphology are two strategies needed to successfully synthesize nanotube-based three-dimensional (3D) frameworks exhibiting superior material properties. Engineering such 3D structures in scalable synthetic processes still remains a challenge. This work pioneers the bulk synthesis of 3D macroscale nanotube elastic solids directly via a boron-doping strategy during chemical vapour deposition, which influences the formation of atomic-scale {"}elbowg{"} junctions and nanotube covalent interconnections. Detailed elemental analysis revealed that the {"}elbowg{"} junctions are preferred sites for excess boron atoms, indicating the role of boron and curvature in the junction formation mechanism, in agreement with our first principle theoretical calculations. Exploiting this materialĝ€{\texttrademark}s ultra-light weight, super-hydrophobicity, high porosity, thermal stability, and mechanical flexibility, the strongly oleophilic sponge-like solids are demonstrated as unique reusable sorbent scaffolds able to efficiently remove oil from contaminated seawater even after repeated use.",
author = "Hashim, {Daniel P.} and Narayanan, {Narayanan T.} and Romo-Herrera, {Jose M.} and Cullen, {David A.} and Hahm, {Myung Gwan} and Peter Lezzi and Suttle, {Joseph R.} and Doug Kelkhoff and E. Mu{\~n}oz-Sandoval and Sabyasachi Ganguli and Roy, {Ajit K.} and David Smith and Robert Vajtai and Sumpter, {Bobby G.} and Vincent Meunier and Humberto Terrones and Mauricio Terrones and Ajayan, {Pulickel M.}",
note = "Funding Information: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 0940902 awarded to D. P. Hashim. P.M. Ajayan, M. Terrones, and N. T. Narayanan acknowledge funding sponsorship from the DOD: Air Force Office of Scientific Research for the Project MURI: Synthesis and Characterization of 3D Carbon Nanotube Solid Networks Award No.: FA9550-12-1-0035. M.G. Hahm, and R.Vajtai acknowledge financial support from ARL/ARO (No.W911NF). Special thanks to Daniel Ram{\'i}rez-Gonzalez for technical support. The authors gratefully acknowledge use of facilities within the John M. Cowley Center for High Resolution Electron Microscopy at Arizona State University. H. Terrones acknowledges support as visiting professor from the Ecole Polytechnique of Louvain, and of the Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS) of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. M. Terrones thanks JST-Japan for funding the Research Center for Exotic NanoCarbons, under the Japanese regional Innovation Strategy Program by the Excellence. B. G. Sumpter was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is sponsored by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy. Some of the calculations were performed using resources of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility and the National Center for Computational Sciences. V.M. was supported in part by the New York State under NYSTAR contract C080117.",
year = "2012",
doi = "10.1038/srep00363",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "2",
journal = "Scientific reports",
issn = "2045-2322",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
}