Chemists create nanotube structures that can expand and contract without breaking down
Friday, September 21, 2012 - 06:02
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org)—A group of chemists from China, Japan and Korea have succeeded in creating nanotubes that can be made to expand and contract in response to warm or cold water. Led by Myongsoo Lee of Seoul University, the team, as they describe in their paper published in the journal Science, manipulated a series of molecules into forming hexagons, which when stacked resulted in the formation of a nanotube. Upon subjecting the nanotube to warm or cold water, the nanotube was made to expand or contract on demand.