Conductivity-Enhanced CNTs for Advanced Obscuration

The proliferation of remote sensing technology, particularly in the IR regime, necessitates advanced and adaptable countermeasures for every component on the battlefield. Nanotechnology combines composition and structure to generate material with new multi-functionality found outside of natural occurrence. Recently, metallic carbon nanotubes (mCNTs) with a particular length and diameter distribution have been shown to be excellent absorbers of infrared radiation (IR) through plasmon interaction. However, currently available mCNTs are too expensive to be used in battlefield IR obscuration applications. American Boronite Corporation is the first commercial producer of predominantly metallic armchair (12,12) single-wall CNT (SWCNT) yarns and textiles with aligned microstructure with comparatively high-yield output. Our metallic armchair SWCNTs are too graphitic and long to be immediately employed in IR obscuration application. We propose to use standard sonication and wet chemistry techniques to shorten our unique CNTs to the necessary length distribution. While systematically measuring SWCNT length and diameter, we will also systematically capture IR absorbance and other electromagnetic interaction to tie back into the IR obscuration application. We will construct validated statistical models based on our collected parameters to implement the ability to produce mCNTs in large volume with predictable structure and IR absorbance, which will meet Army specifications.