William Marsh Rice University

Jason J Stephenson

James Mitchell Tour

Bo Chen

Austen K Flatt

Christopher A Dyke

Condell D Doyle

Boris I Yakobson

Jianli He

Joshua L Jurs

The present invention is directed toward methods of crosslinking carbon nanotubes to each other using microwave radiation, articles of manufacture produced by such methods, compositions produced by such methods, and applications for such compositions and articles of manufacture. The present invention is also directed toward methods of radiatively modifying composites and/or blends comprising carbon nanotubes with microwaves, and to the compositions produced by such methods. In some embodiments, the modification comprises a crosslinking process, wherein the carbon nanotubes serve as a conduit for thermally and photolytically crosslinking the host matrix with microwave radiation.

Interaction of microwaves with carbon nanotubes to facilitate modification

Work from several laboratories has shown that metal nanofilaments cause problems in some molecular electronics testbeds. A new testbed for exploring the electrical properties of single molecules has been developed to eliminate the possibility of metal nanofilament formation and to ensure that molecular effects are measured. This metal-free system uses single-crystal silicon and single-walled carbon nanotubes as electrodes for the molecular monolayer. A direct Si-arylcarbon grafting method is used. Use of this structure with &#x3c0;-conjugated organic molecules results in a hysteresis loop with current-voltage measurements that are useful for an electronic memory device. The memory is non-volatile for more than 3 days, non-destructive for more than 1,000 reading operations and capable of more than 1,000 write-erase cycles before device breakdown. Devices without &#x3c0;-conjugated molecules (Si&#x2014;H surface only) or with long-chain alkyl-bearing molecules produced no hysteresis, indicating that the observed memory effect is molecularly relevant.

Metal-free silicon-molecule-nanotube testbed and memory device

The present invention is directed to novel flame retardant monomers and polymers, wherein the flame retardant properties of the polymers are provided by functionality in pendant groups attached to a polymer backbone (as opposed to the polymer backbone itself possessing flame retardant properties. The present invention is also directed to methods of making such polymers and monomers, and articles of manufacture incorporating such monomers and polymers.

Flame retardant polymers having pendant groups related to bisphenol-C and monomers for synthesis thereof

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Humble, TX, United States of America

Jason J Stephenson