Experimental demonstration of meso-scale carbon nanotube self-assembled tube structures Original Research Article

In addition to numerous other properties of interest, carbon nanotubes (CNT) promise to form a basis for new materials of extraordinary strength owing mainly to the very high carbon–carbon bond energies and their unique tubular structure at the molecular scale. In the area of materials development, the guiding concept of bio-inspired hierarchical structures combined with controlled fabrication at multiple scales has the potential to result in substantially improved mechanical performance. Here we show examples of a multiple-scale self-assembled tube structure, which are themselves composed of multi-wall CNTs, while also demonstrating some important aspects of their nucleation and growth. These hierarchical and self-assembled objects strongly indicate the feasibility of controlled synthesis of macroscopic CNT structures and CNT-reinforced materials for use in various engineering applications. These applications could encompass the areas of structures, thermal transfer, electronics, fluid dynamics, and micro-fluidics.