SCALING NANOFABRICATION: CARBON NANOTUBE-BASED SMART MATERIALS AND DEVICES

Abstract

This dissertation introduces groundbreaking approaches to scaling up the nanofabrication of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based materials and devices, with diverse applications ranging from biosensors to smart textiles. The research begins in Chapter 2 with developing a CNT hydrogel that enables the direct alignment of CNTs across a trench. This approach paves the way for a new sensor design that detects SARS-CoV2 RNA with high sensitivity. In Chapter 3, I optimized this hydrogel system and applied it to effectively align CNTs simply by spin-coating. The alignment is comprehensively characterized by multiple methods, and I further demonstrated that this method could be applied to aligning other 1D nanostructures for innovative semiconductor device design. In Chapter 4, I further applied the CNT hydrogel to achieve an ultrafast assembly of CNTs on polymer fibers, with production rates reaching 100 meters per second. This rapid assembly process facilitates the development of cutting-edge FET-on-a-fiber devices, crucial for advanced biosensing of neurotransmitters. Finally, Chapter 5 explores the design of a humidity-responsive fiber for personal thermal regulation. This composite fiber, driven by torsional actuation, features dynamic inter-fiber distance control, making the material suitable for next-generation smart textiles.