Friday, January 7th, 2011

Building a Nano-Yarn

Micrographs of nanoparticle/nanotube yarns. Image © Science/AAAS.

Researchers describe a new way to create yarns containing exotic materials, from battery ingredients to catalysts to superconductors. Writing in the journal Science, the researchers describe using small amounts of carbon nanotubes as a support material, coating the tube layer with nanoparticles of various materials, then twisting the tube+particle assembly into yarns. Those yarns could then be woven or sewn -- and even held onto their particle ingredients when run through the washing machine. We'll talk about building functional fabrics, and the materials that these advanced yarns might allow.