Researchers proposed a new theory to grow pure carbon nanotubes

Features such as lightweight, convenient structure, immense mechanical strength, superior thermal and electrical conductivities, and stability put CNTs a notch above other material alternatives.

Today, a multitude of industries, including optics, electronics, water purification, and biosciences, innovate at an unprecedented scale with these CNTs.

As impressive as it sounds, CNTs are not easy to grow. They usually grow randomly with single and multiple walls and various chiralities.

Chirality means that a molecule cannot be superimposed on its mirror image, or, in simpler terms, it refers to symmetry. Because chirality determines a nanotube’s electrical properties, the ability to grow chiral-specific carbon nanotubes is a nanotechnology holy grail. It could lead to wires that, unlike copper or aluminum, transmit energy without loss.

Single Chirality Carbon Nanotube

Now Professor Boris Yakobson and researcher Ksenia Bets from Rice University’s George R. Brown School of Engineering have shown a new strategy to grow a batch of carbon nanotubes that are all the same.

Carbon nanotubes with different chiralities grow at different speeds. This means that slower-growing tubes can be separated out and ultimately eliminated.