Carbon nanotubes are a nanostructured material that promises to have a wide range of applications. However, the present techniques used to build nanotube architectures have several deficiencies, such as the inability to precisely and controllably align the nanotubes. This invention is a novel and powerful method to assemble carbon nanotubes on planar substrates to build and control highly organized 1-to-3D architectures.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been used for decades to make thin films, fibers, and bulk materials used in a range of applications. Modifications of CVD, for example, plasma enhanced CVD, have been used to create unique structures by varying process parameters. This technology results in particles with the structure of an inverted truncated right circular cone that could serve as interconnects or as mini energy storage units for solar cells. It could also be used as filler particles in polymer composites, where their unique structure could provide advantageous properties.

This technology relates to nanoparticles that are particularly beneficial in optical systems. The nanoparticles include phosphor-functionalized particles with an inorganic nanoparticle core, surface polymer brushes in the form of long and short-chain polymers bonded to the inorganic nanoparticle core, and organic phosphors bonded to the inorganic nanoparticle core or the short-chain polymers. Applications for this technology include LEDs, lighting devices, fixtures, efficient light conversion materials, etc.

This technology relates to synthesizing nanoparticles with multiple polymer assemblies attached. In one example, a first anchoring compound is attached to a nanoparticle, and a first group of monomers are polymerized on the first anchoring compound to form a first polymeric chain covalently bonded to the nanoparticle via the first anchoring compound. In another example, a first polymeric chain can be attached to the nanoparticle, where the first polymeric chain has been polymerized prior to attachment to the nanoparticle.

This technology relates to a high thermal conductivity thermal interface material that allows for the formation of an interconnected, spanning, high thermal conductivity network within the matrix of a polymeric material using nano particles. This material can yield two orders of magnitude higher thermal conductivities than the non-network counterpart, as well as factorial enhancements versus the state of the art polymer composites.

This technology relates to fabricating tunable refractive index nanoporous thin films on flexible polymer substrates. The refractive index of the nanoporous thin film can be tuned during fabrication to a designed vale by adjusting the porosity of the thin optical film. Experiments show that thin-film SiO2 with tunable porosity fabricated by oblique angle electron beam deposition can be deposited on polymer substrates. Further, these SiO2 thin films show remarkably good adhesion to the polymer substrate.

This technology relates to nanofilled polymeric materials with a tunable refractive index without increased scattering or loss. The tunability allows the creation of hybrid nanocomposites that combine the advantages of organic polymers (low weight, flexibility, good impact resistance, and excellent processability) and inorganic materials (high refractive index, good chemical resistance and high thermal stability).

This technology relates to supports for catalytically active material, particularly for CO oxidation and lean burn deNOx control. There is a need for synthesis routes for supported catalyst that allow for formation of patterned and interconnected porous supports with catalyst nanoparticles of controllable size distributed throughout the support structure. The present technology includes a catalyst composite where both the support and the catalyst are synthesized using the same soft template, at room temperature.

This technology is directed to nanostructures in general and to metal nanoblades in particular. Oblique angle deposition has been demonstrated as an effective technique to produce three-dimensional nanostructures, such as nanosprings and nanorods. Because of the physical shadowing effect, the oblique incident vapor is preferentially deposited onto the highest surface features. This novel nanostructure is an array of thin crystalline magnesium nanoblades, which are coated with nanocatalyst palladium to act as high surface area structures for hydrogen storage.

Many envisioned carbon nanotube (CNT) applications, such as device interconnections in integrated circuits, require directed growth of aligned CNTs, and low-resistance high-strength CNT junctions with tunable chemistry, stability, and electronic properties. However, forming CNT-CNT junctions on the substrate plane in a scalabe fashion, to enable in-plane device circuitry and interconnections, remains to be realized. This invention is based on the discovery that high current densities can slice, weld, and chemically functionalize multiwalled CNTs and alter their electrical properties.