Just when I thought I’d seen all the carbon nanotube abbreviations; I find two new ones in my first news bit about adhesion. Later, I’m including a second news bit that has to do with the upcoming American Chemical Society (ACS) Meeting in San Diego, California.

Sticky carbon nanotubes (CNTs)

Scientists have developed an adhesive that retains its stickiness in extreme temperatures according to a July 10, 2019 news item on Nanowerk (Note: A link has been removed),

In very hot or cold environments, conventional tape can lose its stickiness and leave behind an annoying residue. But while most people can avoid keeping taped items in a hot car or freezer, those living in extreme environments such as deserts and the Antarctic often can’t avoid such conditions.

Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ journal Nano Letters (“Continuous, Ultra-lightweight, and Multipurpose Super-aligned Carbon Nanotube Tapes Viable over a Wide Range of Temperatures”) say they have developed a new nanomaterial tape that can function over a wide temperature range.

In previous work, researchers have explored using nanomaterials, such as vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (VA-MWNTs), to make better adhesive tapes. Although VA-MWNTs are stronger than conventional tapes at both high and low temperatures, the materials are relatively thick, and large amounts can’t be made cost-effectively.

…

These are my first vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (VA-MWNTs) and superaligned carbon nanotubes (SACNTs). I was a little surprised that VA-MWNTs didn’t include the C since these are carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and there are other types of nanotubes. So, I searched and found that inclusion of the letter ‘C’ for carbon seems to be discretionary. Moving on.

A July 10, 2019 ACS press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item, provides more detail,

… Kai Liu, Xide Li, Wenhui Duan, Kaili Jiang and coworkers wondered if they could develop a new type of tape composed of superaligned carbon nanotube (SACNT) films. As their name suggests, SACNTs are nanotubes that are precisely aligned parallel to each other, capable of forming ultrathin but strong yarns or films.

To make their tape, the researchers pulled a film from the interior of an array of SACNTs — similar to pulling a strip of tape from a roll. The resulting double-sided tape could adhere to surfaces through van der Waals interactions, which are weak electric forces generated between two atoms or molecules that are close together. The ultrathin, ultra-lightweight and flexible tape outperformed conventional adhesives, at temperatures ranging from -321 F to 1,832 F. Researchers could remove the tape by peeling it off, soaking it in acetone or burning it, with no noticeable residues. The tape adhered to many different materials such as metals, nonmetals, plastics and ceramics, but it stuck more strongly to smooth than rough surfaces, similar to regular tape. The SACNT tape can be made cost-effectively in large amounts. In addition to performing well in extreme environments, the new tape might be useful for electronic components that heat up during use, the researchers say.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Continuous, Ultra-lightweight, and Multipurpose Super-aligned Carbon Nanotube Tapes Viable over a Wide Range of Temperatures by Xiang Jin, Hengxin Tan, Zipeng Wu, Jiecun Liang, Wentao Miao, Chao-Sheng Lian, Jiangtao Wang, Kai Liu, Haoming Wei, Chen Feng, Peng Liu, Yang Wei, Qunqing Li, Jiaping Wang, Liang Liu, Xide Li, Shoushan Fan, Wenhui Duan, Kaili Jiang. Nano Lett.2019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b01629 Publication Date:June 16, 2019 Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society

This paper is behind a paywall.

American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting in San Diego, Aug. 25 to 29, 2019: an invite to journalists

A July 18, 2019 ACS press release (received via email) announced their upcoming meeting and it included an invitation to journalists. (ACS has two meetings per year, one on the East Coast and the other on the West, roughly speaking).

Materials science and nanotechnology topics at the upcoming 2019 American Chemical Society national meeting in San Diego

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2019 — Journalists who register for the American Chemical Society’s (ACS’) Fall 2019 National Meeting & Exposition in San Diego will have access to more than 9,500 presentations on the meeting’s theme, “Chemistry & Water,” will include  nanotechnology and materials science topics. The meeting, one of the largest scientific conferences of the year, will be held Aug. 25 to 29 [2019] in San Diego.

Nobel Prize winner Frances Arnold, Ph.D., of the California Institute of Technology and Thomas Markland, DPhil, of Stanford University will deliver the two Kavli Foundation lectures on Aug. 26 [2019].

The more than 9,500 presentations will include presentations on nanotechnology and materials science, such as: 

Colloids and nanomaterials for water purification
Nanozymes for bioanalysis and beyond
The latest in wearable and implantable sensors
Nanoscale and molecular assemblies: designing matter to control energy transport
Colloidal quantum dots for solar and other emerging technologies
Nanoscience of bourbon
Targeted delivery of nanomedicines 
Advances in nanocellulose research for engineered functionality
Water sustainability through nanotechnology

Looking for something else? Search the meeting’s abstracts

ACS will operate a press center with press conferences, a news media workroom fully staffed to assist in arranging interviews and free Wi-Fi, computers and refreshments.

Embargoed copies of press releases and a press conference schedule will be available in mid-August.  Reporters planning to cover the meeting from their home bases will have access to the press conferences on YouTube at http://bit.ly/acs2019sandiego.

ACS considers requests for press credentials and complimentary registration to national meetings from reporters (staff and freelance) and public information officers at government, non-profit and educational institutions. See the website for details.

Here’s who does and doesn’t quality for a free press registration (from the ACS complimentary registration webpage),

Press Registration Requirements

The ACS provides complimentary registration to national meetings to reporters (staff and freelancers) and public information officers from government, non-profit and educational institutions. Marketing and public relations professionals, lobbyists and scientists do not qualify as press and must register via the main meeting registration page. Journal managing editors, book commissioning editors, acquisitions editors, publishers and those who do not produce news for a publication or institution also do not qualify. We reserve the right to refuse press credentials for any reason.

No bloggers, eh? it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a press registration process that doesn’t mention bloggers at all.