Explore the vast range of titles available.

In the last decade, significant developments of flexible and stretchable force sensors have been witnessed in order to satisfy the demand of several applications in robotic, prosthetics, wearables and structural health monitoring bringing decisive advantages due to their manifold customizability, easy integration and outstanding performance in terms of sensor properties and low-cost realization. In this paper, we review current advances in this field with a special focus on polymer/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based sensors. Based on the electrical properties of polymer/CNTs nanocomposite, we explain underlying principles for pressure and strain sensors. We highlight the influence of the manufacturing processes on the achieved sensing properties and the manifold possibilities to realize sensors using different shapes, dimensions and measurement procedures. After an intensive review of the realized sensor performances in terms of sensitivity, stretchability, stability and durability, we describe perspectives and provide novel trends for future developments in this intriguing field.

Modern VLSI devices are manufactured using deep submicron technology. On-chip interconnects represent a major performance bottleneck for high-speed VLSI architectures. Nowadays, carbon nanotube (CNT) bundles have been projected as a possible nano interconnect material for increasing the operational speed and adaptable functionality of a system-on-chip. In this paper, a number of CNT bundles and their spatial orientations are considered, including single wall CNT (SWCNT), multi-wall CNT (MWCNT), and mixed CNT bundles (MCB). A good way to reduce the delay can be created by randomly distributing SWCNTs and MWCNTs of different diameters in an MCB. This can be a possible solution for a high speed VLSI connection. Although bundled SWCNTs and MWCNTs are easy, it is almost difficult to create an MCB with accurate SWCNT and MWCNT configurations. The main goal of this work is the optimized use of randomly distributed carbon nanotubes (RMCNTs) as nanocompounds. Furthermore, a new ATSO (Adaptive Transient Search Optimization) algorithm with Huang’s corner placement algorithm is studied to solve problems related to the placement of randomly distributed CNTs with different diameters in an MCB. This algorithm maximizes the tube density by distributing the CNTs randomly. Also, the temperature-dependent circuits are modelled for analyzing the crosstalk performance in the capacitively and inductively coupled MCB and RMCNT bundle (RMCNTB) interconnects at the far end of the victim line. The proposed optimized RMCNTB interconnect outperforms existing MCB interconnects in terms of propagation delay and power dissipation within a temperature range of 300 to 500 K. Furthermore, with an interconnect length of 1.5 mm, the proposed optimized RMCNTB structure exhibits a relative delay of 3.22% and a power dissipation of 10.51% less than the best MCB structure.

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have limited treatment options, primarily dialysis and kidney transplantation. While dialysis effectively removes urea, it remains costly and inconvenient, whereas transplantation is feasible for only a small subset of patients. These challenges underscore the urgent need for innovative blood purification technologies. Wearable artificial kidney (WAK) devices represent a significant advancement, yet efficient urea adsorption remains a critical challenge for their functionality and compact design. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to investigate urea adsorption on nitrogen-doped (N-doped) and phosphorus-doped (P-doped) carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Key analyses—including energy evaluation, radius of gyration ( ), radial distribution function (RDF), root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), solvent accessible surface area (SASA) and hydrogen bond (H-bond) assessments—were performed to compare the adsorption capacities of these materials. The results indicate that CNTs with 15% nitrogen doping exhibit superior urea adsorption, attributed to enhanced H-bond formation, reduced , increased adsorption energy, and a higher RDF peak. These findings suggest that N-doped CNTs are highly efficient adsorbents for WAK devices, offering promising advancements in blood purification technologies.

Manufacturing of nanomaterials is an interdisciplinary field covering physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and engineering. The interaction between scientists with different disciplines will undoubtedly lead to the production of novel materials with tailored properties. The success of nanomanufacturing depends on the strong cooperation between academia and industry in order to be informed about current needs and future challenges, to design products directly transferred into the industrial sector. It is of paramount importance the selection of the appropriate method combining synthesis of nanomaterials with required properties and limited impurities as well as scalability of the technique. Their industrial use faces many obstacles as there is no suitable regulatory framework and guidance on safety requirements; specific provisions have yet to be established in EU legislation. Moreover, regulations related to the right of intellectual properties as well as the absence of an appropriate framework for patent registration are issues delaying the process of products’ industrial application. The utilization of high-quality nanomaterials is now growing and coming to the industrial arena rendering them as the next generation attractive resources with promising applications. Undoubtedly, the existing gap between basic research relating nanomaterials and their application in real life will be overcome in the coming decade.

This paper presents modeling of high current capability of mixed carbon nanotube (CNT) bundle interconnects depending upon the type of constituent CNT materials and their orientations. With different arrangements, one category of novel mixed CNT bundles formed by the combination of multi-walled/multi-shell CNT and double-shell CNT bundles (MDCB) are proposed and compared with the mixed CNT bundles (MSCB) formed with multi-shell CNT and single-walled CNT bundles. A time-domain analysis is performed for these structures to analyse the effect of delay and power dissipation. It has also been observed that MDCB structures give better performance (≈ 30%) than MSCB structures in terms of power-delay product at the global length of interconnect for nano-regime technology nodes. Also, MDCB structure formed by placing multi-walled CNTs along the periphery and double-walled CNTs in the centre of structure yields the best result against all proposed mixed CNT bundled structures and can be employed for future interconnect applications.

Incorporating pentagons and heptagons into the hexagonal networks of pristine carbon nanotubes （CNTs） can form various CNT-based nanostructures, as pentagons and heptagons will bend or twist the CNTs by introducing positive and negative curvature, respectively. Some typical so-made CNT-based nanostructures are reviewed in this article, including zero-dimensional toroidal CNTs, and one-dimensional kinked and coiled CNTs. Due to the presence of non-hexagonal rings and curved geometries, such nanostructures possess rather different structural, physical and chemical properties from their pristine CNT counterparts, which are reviewed comprehensively in this article. Additionally, their synthesis, modelling studies, and potential applications are discussed.

In this paper, the structure evolution of cerium cobaltohexanoate (Ce[Co(CN) 6 ], Ce-Co Prussian blue analog (PBA)) has been realized by solvent catalysis at room temperature. The hexagonal bipyramidal microcrystals of Ce-Co PBA can be gradually transformed into dendrites by different proportions of ethanol (EtOH) and water. At the same time, the porous dendrites CeO 2 /Co@carbon nanotub (CNT) with oxygen-rich vacancies (OVs) can be obtained by annealing Ce-Co PBA at 700 °C. The microstructure study shows that carbon nanotubes will be catalyzed after annealing at high temperature, and the cobalt metal particles encapsulated in carbon nanotubes will be anchored in the matrix, regulating the impedance matching and multi-polarization suppression of the material, and its unique structure, vacancies, and strong interface effect make the material exhibit excellent electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption performance. When the matching thickness is 2.5 mm, the minimum reflection loss (RL min ) of the composite is −51.68 dB, and the effective absorption bandwidth (RL < −10 dB) is 7.76 GHz. These results show that the prepared CeO 2 /Co@CNT composite has excellent EMW absorption properties. It is expected to be a candidate material for EMW absorption.

HighlightsDimensional gradient structure of sheet–tube–dots was constructed with CoSe2@CNTs–MXene for fast ion and electron transportation.Density functional theory study discloses the electrochemical difference of CoSe2@CNTs–MXene in ether/ester electrolyte system.Phase transformation of CoSe2@CNTs–MXene was analyzed by in situ XRD. The full cell based on CoSe2@CNTs–MXene anode was also assembled.Recently, abundant resources, low-cost sodium-ion batteries are deemed to the new-generation battery in the field of large-scale energy storage. Nevertheless, poor active reaction dynamics, dissolution of intermediates and electrolyte matching problems are significant challenges that need to be solved. Herein, dimensional gradient structure of sheet–tube–dots is constructed with CoSe2@CNTs–MXene. Gradient structure is conducive to fast migration of electrons and ions with the association of ether electrolyte. For half-cell, CoSe2@CNTs–MXene exhibits high initial coulomb efficiency (81.7%) and excellent cycling performance (400 mAh g−1 cycling for 200 times in 2 A g−1). Phase transformation pathway from crystalline CoSe2–Na2Se with Co and then amorphous CoSe2 in the discharge/charge process is also explored by in situ X-ray diffraction. Density functional theory study discloses the CoSe2@CNTs–MXene in ether electrolyte system which contributes to stable sodium storage performance owing to the strong adsorption force from hierarchical structure and weak interaction between electrolyte and electrode interface. For full cell, CoSe2@CNTs–MXene//Na3V2 (PO4)3/C full battery can also afford a competitively reversible capacity of 280 mAh g−1 over 50 cycles. Concisely, profiting from dimensional gradient structure and matched electrolyte of CoSe2@CNTs–MXene hold great application potential for stable sodium storage.

The hurdle of fabricating asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) devices using a faradic cathode and a double layer anode is challenging due to the required large amount of active mass of anodic material compared to that of the cathodic material during mass balancing due to the large difference in capacitance values of the two electrodes. Here, the problem is addressed by engineering a negative electrode that furnishes an ultrahigh capacitance. An in situ developed metal–organic framework (MOF)‐based thermal treatment is adopted to grow highly porous N‐doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) containing submerged Co nanoparticles over nano‐fibrillated electrospun hollow carbon nanofibers (HCNFs). The optimized CNT@HCNF‐1.5 furnishes an ultrahigh capacitance approaching 712 F g–1 with excellent rate capability. The capacitance reported from this work is the highest for any carbonaceous material reported to date. The CNT@HCNF‐1.5 is further used to fabricate symmetric supercapacitors (SSCs), as well as ASC devices. Remarkably, both the SSC and ASC devices furnish incredible performances in all aspects of SCs, such as a high energy density, long cycle life, and high rate capability, displaying decent practical applicability. The energy density of the SSC device reaches as high as 20.13 W h kg–1, whereas that of ASC approaches 87.5 W h kg–1. An in situ developed metal–organic framework‐based thermal treatment technique is adopted to prepare porous N‐doped carbon nanotubes containing firmly submerged Co‐nanoparticles over nano‐fibrillated electrospun hollow carbon nanofibers. When the optimized CNT@HCNF‐1.5 is applied as a negative electrode, the problem related to mass balancing during fabrication of asymmetric supercapacitor can be addressed satisfactorily that will open new possibilities for the future works.

Pancreatic, liver, gastric, colorectal, and rectal cancers (PC, LC, GC, CRC, and RC) are highly lethal tumours, with a 5-year survival rate of 10.5% (PC) and <20% (LC), and of 5%, 12%, and 13% for IV-stage GC, CRC, and RC, respectively. Currently, PC and LC represent the third leading cause of cancer-related death, while GCs and CRCs account for 4.8 million cancer cases and 4.4 million cancer deaths worldwide. Poor prognoses are mainly due to late diagnosis, limited efficacy of available treatments, tumour recurrence, as well as therapy-induced secondary tumorigenesis and drug resistance. In recent decades, these issues have been afforded using nanomaterials (NMs), with promising results. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are nonpareil nano systems, which have demonstrated high potential in both cancer diagnosis and treatment, showing to be excellent vehicles for drugs, antibodies, genes, etc. Used alone or in combination with available therapeutic strategies, such as photothermal, photodynamic, drug targeting, gene, immune, and chemotherapies, CNTs have shown notable results in laboratory settings, enhancing the anticancer effects and reducing toxic outcomes of traditional treatments. Anyway, despite PC, LC, and CRC being three of the five tumours (60%) considered the most perfidious and lethal cancers, studies on the use of these innovative NMs to cure them represent only 37% of those regarding the treatment of the most known tumours. Regarding this scenario of a worrying lack of efficient treatments for highly lethal PC, LC, GC, CRC, and RC, this umbrella review was drawn up to promote filling this gap in studies by reporting the still too limited and often obsolete experimentation on the possible use of CNTs for their diagnosis and therapy. To this end, such case studies have been collected in several informative Tables which are functional for readers, and the studies have been discussed. This study wants to sensitize scientists towards more extensive research to find novel safer applications of CNTs against PC, LC, GC, CRC, and RC, both in terms of early diagnoses and efficient treatments. Such efforts should also focus on clarifying the not yet fully unveiled toxicological aspects and regulatory hurdles, both of which persist around CNTs. Research should also be finalized to produce patents rather than journal articles, thus accelerating the translation of CNTs to clinical practice.