Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have captured the attention of materials scientists and technologists due to their unique one-dimensional structure by virtue of which they acquire superior electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Current methods for CNT growth on substrates have their drawbacks. Vertically aligned CNT growth on metallic substrates requires catalyst islands on the substrate, which limits its ultimate application. Aligned CNT growth is a complicated, multi-step process and requires a brittle substrate, such as indium tin oxide.

Structural foams have a variety of applications, such as cushioning, packaging, and construction. Compressive strength and compressibility are important factors to determine the performance and application of foams. However, since these factors are of opposing nature there is a need for structural foam with high compressive strength, compressibility, and resilience. This invention is comprised of on open-cell carbon nanotube which exhibits super-compressible foamlike behavior. They have higher compressive strength, recovery rate, sag factor, and breathability.

The use and development of carbon nanotubes has expanded, as these materials have shown to be valuable innext generation industries including the fields of electronicsand chemistry. The further development of carbon nanotubetechnology allows organized structures or intertwined randomly oriented bundles of carbon nanotubes to be formed. Techniques have been developed to controllably build organized architectures of nanotubes having predetermined orientations, such as vertically aligned nanotubes.

The use of fillers in both thermoplastic and thermoset polymers has been common. The practice of filling polymers is motivated both by cost reduction and by the need to obtain altered or enhanced properties. Nanostructured dielectric materials have demonstrated advantages over micro-filled polymer dielectrics. However, this is a need to improve these nanocomposites such that they can be adapted for use in such situations as electrical insulation for low or medium voltage cables.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes have been produced by several different methods, including chemical vapor deposition and laser ablation. These nanotubes are either grown as a layer of aligned nanotubes or as intertwined, randomly oriented bundles of nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes have many potential applications due to their mechanical, electrical, and eletronic properties. However, the difficulty in asembling the nanotubes into desired complex architectures and patterns hinder some applications. This invention is directed to a carbon nanotube foam.

Block copolymers are polymers whose molecular chains consist of incompatible segments that can self-assemble to form separated phases or microdomains. The versatile properties of block copolymers are determined by their phase-separated microdomains, generating a variety of applications in biomedical materials, engineering thermoplastics and elastomers, and optical and electrical materials. This invention is directed to a novel method of assembling and controlling the properties of block copolymers.

Polymers play an important role in electrical insulating and field grading technology because of their high electrical strength, ease of fabrication, low cost and simple maintenance. Conventionally, additives have been mixed into polymer matrices to improve their resistance to degradation, to modify mechanical and thermomechanical properties, and to improve electrical properties such as high-field stability. However, concentional additives have a negative effect on electrical properties.

Routine, nondestructive inspectsions of aircraft components take place at periodic intervals before and during operation of an aircarft to ensure safety of flight. These mandated inspections focus on damage caused by impact, flight induced stress, or manufacturing defect. Currently, most of these inspections are time consuming, expensive, and result in significant downtime of the aircraft. This invention is directed to nanosensors that can detect structural change in aircraft components.

There is an increasing interest in using nanoparticles as building blocks for well-defined structures that have practical applications owing to the various novel properties of nanoparticles. However, their assembly is a challenging task. Methods based on surface functionalization, andor template patterning have been used for this purpose, but both of these processes can be rather complicated. Thus, there is a continuing need for a simple method for synthesizing high aspect ratio microstructures constituted of nanoparticle building blocks.

For most types of gelatin-based imaging elements, surface abrasion and scratching results in reduction of image quality. Thus, processing the image and, later, casual handling of the image can easily mark or disfigure the image. There is, therefore, a need for an imaging element having improved scratch resistance over materials currently used.