Double-Wall Nanotubes

I've been reading a flurry of announcements lately on Double-Wall Nanotubes (DWNTs):

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I found this line to be interesting: "a single-wall carbon nanotube having a diameter of 2 nanometers will be less stiff than a double-wall nanotube of the same diameter. Furthermore, the outer tube of a double-wall nanotube can be functionalized, leaving the inner tube pristine."

Cool! I never thought of that -- if you have MWNT, then you can functionalize the outer layer so that it will stick to the filler matrix, while the inner layers would be perfectly intact and strong. I realize that the more layers you have in MWNT, the more problem they pose for sliding past each other. But I guess if you just have double-wall, then it reduces the problem.

So what a clever way to get around the dichotomy of getting your nanotube to hold itself together while also getting it to hold onto its surrounding matrix! Sorry if I'm mentioning something you all know about, but I just thought it was nifty enough to mention.

Ah, the benefits of encapsulation... :)

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