This could be a hugely significant breakthrough: "a way to make strong, stable macroscale sheets and ribbons of multiwall nanotubes at a rate of seven meters per minute. These ribbons and sheets, moreover, already display -- without optimization of the process -- important electronic and physical properties, making them suitable for use in an enormous variety of settings, including artificial muscles, transparent antennas, video displays and solar cells "
The properties are wondrous; "nanotube sheets combine high transparency with high electronic conductivity, are highly flexible and provide giant gravimetric surface areas, which has enabled the team to demonstrate their use as electrodes for bright organic light emitting diodes for displays and as solar cells for light harvesting."
However there are potential issues and we've heard the siren call of the wonder materials before so let's be only cautiously excited: "how stable are the materials over the long-haul? What would cause them to break down? And when they do degrade, how small are the resulting particles? Although solid research into the risks of nanotubes remains to be done, early signs are that some configurations, under some conditions, could be hazardous."
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Ribbons, Sheets and the Nanofuture:
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