Make Tiny Hollow Fibres

Enthalpy

15th August 2009 - 06:33 PM

Make tiny hollow fibres

Again a bizarre idea from me...

Large flat molecules with many aromatic bonds should hopefully self-organize into fibres.
Though, I'm no chemist, and I've no idea whether such molecules can be synthesized.

More details about such molecules, and potential uses for the desired fibres, are there:
http://saposjoint.net/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=1754

Comments by chemists are welcome!

Marc Schaefer, aka Enthalpy

wcelliott

6th September 2009 - 05:20 PM

Diesel engine exhaust is said to be a good source of Fullerenes, including the tube-structure versions.

Lots of applications there.

Enthalpy

7th September 2009 - 01:33 PM

I don't want to make fullerenes.

Following the link, pictures tell what flat molecules hopefully self-organize in tubes, wires... Which could be easier to produce than nanotubes.

wcelliott

7th September 2009 - 06:06 PM

QUOTE

I don't want to make fullerenes.

So bite my head off, already.

OK, you don't want to make fullerenes (most people in that business do), so here's my suggestion: Look for another way for the constituents of DNA to fit together. You might start looking at Pauling's efforts to figure out DNA's structure, IIRC, he came up with a three-stranded helix. He was wrong about very few things, it may be possible to make his triple-helix DNA which would be a worthy accomplishment in itself, as well as a good start to making a tube-shaped molecule.

wcelliott

11th September 2009 - 03:57 AM

Regular chemistry might not help much if you're operating at such a small scale, as small clusters of atoms can also be considered as "quantum dots".

If you have an ultimate objective, you may find it easier to achieve by drilling holes in a layered substrate.

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