Researchers produce 'nano-ribbons' with mortar and pestle

Graphene nanoribbons which can be used to boost a materials’ electronic properties and strength hold promise for a number of applications.

However, it’s fair to say that the harsh chemical reactions required to produce these exotic structures have held back the deployment of the technology.

Now, researchers at Rice University in the US have found a new way of producing the material by grinding modified nanotubes with a mortar and pestle.  According to materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan this breakthrough – reported in the current issue of Nature Communications - has been achieved by mixing two types of chemically modified nanotubes which, when they come into contact during grinding, react and unzip into nanoribbons.

The team claims that the new process could lead to significant advances in nanomaterials development. “If we can use nanotubes as templates, functionalise them and get reactions under the right conditions, what kinds of things can we make with a large number of possible nanostructures and chemical functional groups?” said Ajayan.