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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/S83005/01
Title: Basic Technology: Magnetic Levitation Technology for Mineral Separation, Nanomaterials, and Biosystems for Space Exploration
Principal Investigator: Eaves, Professor L
Other Investigators:
Power, Dr B Lowe, Dr K Beton, Professor P
Davey, Dr M Kingman, Professor S Miles, Professor N
King, Professor P
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Sch of Physics & Astronomy
Organisation: University of Nottingham
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 June 2004 Ends: 30 November 2008 Value (£): 1,238,081
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Complex fluids & soft solids Electromagnetics
Magnetism/Magnetic Phenomena
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Manufacturing Electronics
Related Grants:
GR/S83029/01
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
This summary relates to the nanomaterials part of the Nottingham-Oxford Basic Technology magnetic levitation proposal:Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes (SWNT) have enormous potential as building blocks for nanoscale (1nm) electronics, with individual nanotubes showing both metallic and semiconducting behaviour. To realise this potential it is necessary to separate out metallic and semiconducting nanotubes and ideally select nanotube sizes, which control their optical properties. Metallic nanotubes are predicted to be paramagnetic for fields parallel to the tube axis and diamagnetic in the perpendicular direction. Semiconducting tubes will be diamagnetic for both cases but with very different magnitudes. We will use the Nottingham levitation magnet system to align the nanotubes and separate them according to their type (semiconducting and metallic) and diameter.The nanotubes will be studied in solution in the strong field gradient of the Nottingham magnet using laterally-resolved absorption and photoluminescence to monitor the tube sizes and electronic properties. Polymerisation will be used to 'freeze-in' the separation and alignment of the tubes for subsequent detailed studies of the optical properties in Oxford. The Oxford Pulsed Magnetic Field facility, which can to produce fields up to 65T, will be used to investigation the optical properties of the SWNTs, including the search for a predicted semiconductor-to-metallic transition when a high field is applied along the tube direction.
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Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk