Re: nanotube composite

From: Havirrion (havirrion_at_NOblueDAMNyonderSPAM.co.uk)
Date: 06/27/04 

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 19:12:30 GMT

Uncle Al wrote:
> Havirrion wrote:
>
>>http://www.nature.com/nsu/021007/021007-13.html
>>
>>This stuff was reported on some time ago yet evert attempt I have made
>>to find out more has been a dead end. The physical properties the
>>article mentions are just incredible, and I wonder about the credulity
>>of it all.
>
>
> The hot spin is continuous synthesis of nanotubes (flowing inert gas,
> organic feedstock, a little methanol, a trace of vaporized ferrocene
> as catalyst, then pyrolyze and grab growing fiber like cotton candy)
> then prepreg with aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol), spin to multi-filament
> fiber, and pyrolyze that.
>
> It works in the lab and the claimed material properties are awesome.
> The real world is commercialization. It didn't take Kevlar and
> Spectra very long to have major impacts upon steel cable and high-end
> sails. Nano-stuffs remain commercial orphans.
>
> If you can't sell it to a consortium of stupendously wealthy fanatics
> lusting after the Americas Cup/Louis Vuitton Cup, you ain't got
> nothing.
>

You seem to know a fair bit about this, any idea if it is available to
buy anywhere?