Novel carbon nanotube yarns that convert mechanical movement into electricity more effectively than other material-based energy harvesters have been developed at The University of Texas at Dallas. Twistrons, made from spun CNTs, convert mechanical movement into electricity. Scanning electron microscope images show how UT Dallas researchers made a new kind of twistron by intertwining three individual strands of spun carbon nanotube fibres to make a single yarn, similar to the way conventional yarns used in textiles are constructed. A previous

An electrochemically powered artificial muscle made from twisted carbon nanotubes contracts more when driven faster thanks to a novel conductive polymer coating. The device, which was developed by Ray Baughman of the University of Texas at Dallas in the US and an international team of collaborators, overcomes some limitations of previous artificial muscles, and could have applications in robotics, “smart” textiles and heart pumps. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are rolled-up sheets of carbon with walls as thin as a single atom. When twisted together to

By twisting small fibers, a new device produces changes in temperature. Years from now, it could change the way we cool things down. – Dallas scientists have developed a fundamentally new approach to cooling things down — by understanding that twisting and untwisting fibers can result in temperature changes. For example, as a thin rubber strand is twisted tightly, the strand gets quite hot. As the rubber untwists, it cools. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas affixed fibers

Material’s Properties Exceed Those of Carbon Fiber Composites Used in Aircraft Bodies, Sports Equipment An international research team led by scientists at Beihang University in China and The University of Texas at Dallas has developed high-strength, super-tough sheets of carbon that can be inexpensively fabricated at low temperatures. The team made the sheets by chemically stitching together platelets of graphitic carbon, which is similar to the graphite found in the soft lead of an ordinary pencil. The fabrication process resulted

A UT Dallas program aimed at igniting interest in the sciences among high school students earned a Tech Titan award from the Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC). The George A. Jeffrey NanoExplorers program at UT Dallas was awarded the annual Tech Titan of the Future award from the council. Dr. Ray Baughman, director of the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTechnology Institute at the University, founded the NanoExplorers program in 2002 as a way to bring in promising pre-collegiate students to conduct