Carbon Nanotubes
HASSANALI GHAEDAMINI HAROUNI - A0068990M
LO KWOK WAH DENNIS - A0005859X
LOW GUAT SIM - A0082071N
GOPALAKRISHNAN NANDINI - A0098547L
RAGUNATH GUHA - A0082085E
SHEN ZIHONG - A0046147H
Flywheels & Transparent Electrodes
Outline Background of CNT
What are they?
Synthesis & Properties
Emerging Applications
Growth Drivers
Market Demand
Prices of CNT
How cheaper can CNT get?
Entrepreneurial Opportunities
Transparent Electrodes &
Flywheels
Challenges & Improvements
Conclusion
Q & A
CNT - What are they?
A graphite sheet rolled into a seamless cylinder
Multi-walled (MWCNT): Concentric or spiral
Single-walled (SWCNT): Zig-zag, armchair or chiral
Fullerite: Polymerised single walled
Torus: Nanotube bent into doughnut shape
E.T. Thostenson et al. / Composites Science and Technology (2001)
CNT - Synthesis
Carbon Nanotubes can be synthesised in 3 main ways
Arc Discharge
Laser Ablation
Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD)
Other techniques are:
Flame pyrolysis, Bottom-up organic approach,
High-Pressure CO Conversion (HiPco),
Thermal Plasma Synthesis, Rotation Reactors
(Improved CVD), CCVD (Catalytic CVD).
CNT - Properties
Among the other properties of CNT, the most prominent ones are :
Electrical Mechanical
Thermal
*Very Large Scale Integration
Diamond CNT Steel
Youngs
Modulus(GPa) 1220 1000 210
Tensile
strength(GPa) 1.2 63 1.2
Yield stress(GPa) 16.53 52.00 0.83
Density(g cm-3) 3.52 1.35 8
Field emission in vacuum electronics
Building block for next generation of
VLSI*
Nano lithography
Has constant resistivity & a tolerance
for very high current density
Armchair structures are metallic while,
chiral can be a moderate
semiconductor Good thermal capacitors along tube &
insulators laterally to the tube axis.
15 times more heat conductive than copper
Temperature stability -up to 2800oC in vacuum
& about 750oC in air
Emerging Applications
Flywheels for
Uninterrupted Power
Supply (UPS)
Transparent electrodes
Lithium-ion batteries
Super-capacitors
CNT-based electronic
components such as field-
effect transistors (FETs).
The unique electrical and mechanical properties of CNT has
been modified to assemble them into devices like:
Market Demand of CNT
Electronics & Data Storage
Energy
Source: http://www.electronics.ca/presscenter/articles/1204/1/Market-Applications-of-Carbon-Nanotubes/
Prices of Materials (Multi-tonnes) Pri
ce (
USD
/gra
m)
0.000
0.001
0.010
0.100
1.000
10.000
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
SWNT (90wt%) Indium
Silicon MWNT
Carbon Fibre Steel
Year
Source: Multi-source (please refer to the comments section)
Price at various purity levels (2013)
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
1 10 25 50 100 500 1000
($'0
00)
Weight (g)
Price of CNT
99% SWCNT
90% SWCNT
60% SWCNT
99% MWCNT
95% MWCNT
Source: http://www.cheaptubesinc.com/carbon-nanotubes-prices.htm#Single_Walled_Nanotubes_Prices
How much cheaper can CNT get ?
Source: www.small-journal.com reviews © 2013 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
The Road for Nanomaterials Industry: A Review of Carbon Nanotube Production, Post-Treatment and Bulk Applications for
Composites and Energy Storage
CNT Cost vs Production capacity
Production Capacity vs Actual Production
Yr 2008 Yr 2009 Yr 2010 Yr 2015
Spare capacity (tonne) 656 1690 3355 3000
Actual Production
(tonne) 340 500 710 9300
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
CN
T P
rod
ucti
on
(to
nn
e)
Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/production-and-application-of-carbon-nanotubes-carbon-nanofibers-fullerenes-
graphene-and-nanodiamonds-a-global-technology-survey-and-market-analysis-131970098.html
Process/ Source Carbon Fibre CNT
Precursors Polymer (polyacrylonitrile,
polyethylene)
Carbon containing gas
(methane, ethane etc) +
metal catalyst (Ni etc)
Synthesizing Oxidation and carbonization Carbonization (breaking off
carbon)
Surface treatment Liquid Oxidation with acid/
alkaline
Acid washing
Packaging Spooling Sheets, Vertically aligned, etc
Manufacturing process of CNT
Manufacturing cost of CNT
Source: Rocky Mountain Institute, 2011
Reasons:
Availability of large volume of waste produced worldwide
composed of polymers (polyethyelene, polypropylene etc)
Plastic polymers serve very well as carbonaceous feed for CNT
production
Energy and resource intensive production of CNTs
More cost efficient as, precusors are the main contributor to
high-cost
Using Waste material (as precursors) for
CNT Production
Source: Chemical Engineering Journal 195–196 (2012) 377–391
Source: Towards large scale aligned carbon nanotube composites: an industrial safe-by-design and sustainable approach: Journal of
Physics: Conference Series 429 (2013) 012050
Materials as precursors for Production of
VA-CNT
Alternate energy to lower Mfg cost
Source: Renewable and Sustainability Reviews, Volume 22, June 2013, Pg 560-570
Carbon Nanotubes in
Transparent Electrode &
Flywheels
Transparent Electrode
What is transparent electrode? A transparent and conductive material
For devices like touch screens, LCDs, OLEDs, Solar cells
Transparent electrodes to be used in display panels:
Higher conductivity
Higher transparency
Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) in Transparent
Electrodes
Advantage Disadvantage
Ease of fabrication
Expensive and time-consuming multi stage
refining process with low efficiency (15 to 30%)
Consistency and
reproducibility
Shortage of supply: Indium is a by product of
other mining operation, eg. Zinc and Lead
Mature technology Increasing cost of ITO
Good transmittance in the
visible (>80%) and near IR
regions
Low resilience to mechanical stresses
Low electrical resistivity Inherently brittle in nature
Flexible substrate, deterioration in the
conductivity when subjected to thermal and
mechanical strains
Degrade with time when subjected to
mechanical stress
Alternative materials in Transparent
Electrode
A) Carbon Nanotube
(CNT) films
B) Random Net works of
metallic nanowires
C) Metal gratings
D) Graphene films
Source: Kumar, Akshay, and Chongwu Zhou. "The race to replace tin-doped indium oxide: which material will
win?." ACS nano 4.1 (2010): 11-14.
Carbon Nanotubes for Transparent
Electrodes
Optoelectronic property of CNT network films
ITO performance (100 Ohm/sq and >90% transparency)
Unidym CVD nanotubes outperforms any other CVD
tubes together with Laser and Arc tubes
Source: Park, Young‐Bae, et al. "37.4: Late‐News Paper: Integration of Carbon Nanotube Transparent Electrodes into Display
Applications." SID Symposium Digest of Technical Papers. Vol. 39. No. 1. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008.
Hybrids of CNT network films
Price Conductivity Transparency Flexibility
CNT √ √
ITO √ √
Contact resistances and semi-conducting nanotubes of
the nanotube network films
Chemical doping
Hybridization of conducting guest components
o Acid treatment
o Deposition of metal nanoparticles
o Creation of a composite of conducting polymers
Surface-modified carbon nanotube networks for
transparent conducting film applications
Result of Chemical Doping
One tenth
reduction in
resistance by
post treatment
of CNT
Source: Yang, Seung Bo, et al. "Recent advances in hybrids of carbon nanotube network films and nanomaterials for
their potential applications as transparent conducting films." Nanoscale 3.4 (2011): 1361-1373.
Flywheels
Consists of 3 major components:
Flywheel (Rotor, Rotor’s bearing & Housing)
Electrical motor/generator to transfer electricity
Controlled electronics for connection to a larger
electric power system
Basic Operating Principle of Flywheel Energy Storage System:
Source: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6I2lKtfpLQ
What are Flywheel Energy Storage Systems?
Why Flywheels for Energy Storage?
Source: http://www.globalrenewablenews.com/?
ESS Feature Lead Acid Battery Flywheel Battery
Storage Mechanism Chemical Mechanical
Energy Density Higher Lower
Power Density Lower Higher
Efficiency (input/output) 75% 95%
Price per Kilowatt $50 -$100 (USD) $400 - $800 (USD)
Maintenance Higher Lower
Operating Life 3-5 yrs > 20 yrs
Charging Capabilities Slow Rapid
Charging Cycles 1000 100,000
Technology Proven Promising
Environmental Concerns Disposal Issues Slight
Temperature Range Limited Less Limited
Relative Size (equivalent power/energy) Larger Smaller
Annual Sales ($Millions USD) ~ 7000 ~ 2
Flywheel
CNT
Flywheel
CNT
Design for Flywheels
Increasing Mass of Rotor Increasing Velocity of Rotor
Slow Speed Flywheels High Speed Flywheels
Store twice as much energy when it
spins at the same speed
Store quadruple as much energy when it
spins twice the speed
Dense and Large (Larger Footprint) Lighter and Smaller (Smaller Footprint)
Deliver a large amount of power for a
short period of time
Produce usable work or electrical energy
for hours but in smaller quantities
Applications: Emergency backup
power sources
Applications: Motor vehicles
Source: http://cdn.intechweb.org/pdfs/20363.pdf
Velocity (v) x 2 Energy (Ek) x 22
Mass (m) x 2 Energy (Ek) x 2
Current Materials Used For Rotors: Steel or Carbon Fiber
As Speed of rotor increases, the energy stored is limited by the
strength of the rotor material
Rotor eventually reaches a point where the force is too great
that it shatters into fragments
Limitations for High
Speed Flywheels
Carbon Nanotubes for High Speed
Flywheels
Specific tensile
strength of the
material
Source: http://cdn.intechweb.org/pdfs/20363.pdf
Specific Density (ρ) T. Strength (σt)
Carbon Nanotubes are 10 times much stronger than Carbon Fiber
& 20 times much stronger than Steel
Challenges for High Speed Flywheels
Year Carbon Fiber Carbon Nanotubes
2016 $0.018 $0.16
2015 $0.022 $0.18
2014 $0.027 $0.20
2013 $0.031 $0.23
*Price (USD/gram)
Solution:
Drive CNT prices down through Mass Production
Use of existing manufacturing process
Use of renewable resources for manufacturing (Materials & Energy)
Source: Multi-source (please refer to the comments section)
Cost approximately 9
times that of Carbon Fiber
New Industry/ Product Opportunities for
Carbon Nanotubes
Energy Electronics
High Functionality Materials Structural Materials
Power cables
Solar heat electric generation
Silicon replacement semi conductor circuit
Power semiconductor heat dissipater
High temperature range visco-elasticity
High electric conductivity rubber roller
Aircraft body fortifying material
Wind power generator fan blade
Challenges:
1. High Cost of CNT
2. Manufacturing CNT to create new and different
structural and functional properties suitable for
different applications
Solutions:
1. Driving down CNT prices through mass production
2. Exploit existing manufacturing process (e.g.: CVD)
3. Use of renewable resources (material & energy) to
reduce manufacturing cost
Once these challenges are overcome, the growth in
global CNTs demand is expected to accelerate
thereafter. Based on the trend analysis, our team
projects that Carbon Nanotubes would become
feasible, around 25 years from now for majority of the
applications
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