Priorties For Nanotube Production Outlined

Although the electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been celebrated for more than two decades, the full potential of CNT technology has yet to be realized, says a report from nanotechnology experts convened by the federal government. Manufacturing, quality control, and scalability are among challenges to CNT commercialization identified in the report, issued on March 12 by the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). Along with technical barriers to commercialization, the report describes priorities for future R&D. These priorities include better understanding the properties of bulk CNT-containing materials—yarns, sheets, and fibers, for example—as compared with individual CNTs as well as the development of standards and protocols for testing CNT-based products. The report supports NNI’s Nanotechnology Signature Initiative, begun in 2010 to develop sustainable, cost-effective manufacturing of nanomaterials.