Kanik Ram

Synthesis of two dimensional quasi-aligned carbon nanotube bundles by a catalytic chemical vapour deposition method—an inside story

A simple and novel method was developed for efficient synthesis of 2D quasi-aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes by a catalytic chemical vapour deposition technique. The CNT alignment and in depth analysis of structures has been studied by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The growth rate and the purity of the product have been found to be affected by the flow rates of the gases as well as the nature of the support used.

Theoretical Studies on C82 Fullerene with Encapsulated Germanium Metal

Fullerenes have cage‐like structures, which leads to a typical inner space. A range of metal atoms can be trapped inside this space to form endohedral metallofullerenes. These new series of materials exhibit potential applications as new types of superconductors, organic ferromagnets, nonlinear optical materials, functional molecular devices, magnetic resonance imaging agents, and biological tracing agents, etc. A great deal of experimental and theoretical studies have been focused on endohedral metallofullerenes of Group 3 metals (Sc, Y, La), most of the lanthanide series elements, Group 2 metals (Ca, Sr, Ba), alkali metals (Li, Na, K, Cs), and some tetravalent metals (U, Zr, Hf). However, no theoretical or experimental studies have so far been reported on Germanium (Ge), an intrinsic semiconductor, which has a comparable atomic size and weight with metal atom inserted in the Fullerene cage. In this paper, we discuss the physical properties of Ge doped C82 metallofullerene. As it is suggested by theoretical calculation that metallofullerenes with C82 and C2V symmetry show maximum stability, so all the calculations here are carried out with C82 Fullerene with C2V symmetry. Theoretical calculations have been done on mono, di, trimetallofullerenes with one, two and three metal atoms and their respective electronic structures have also been studied.

Development of Low Dielectric Material Using Carbon Nanotubes

We have developed low dielectric material using carbon nanotubes and measured its microwave‐absorbing properties. Its mechanical properties have also been investigated. Measurement showed that tensile strength increases by 23% and tensile modulus increases by 36%. A plausible explanation for high increase of mechanical properties has also been discussed.