US Patent 7807127 - Nitrogen-based functionalization of CNTs

http://ip.com/patent/US7807127

This patent is based on research supported by the U.S. Navy and includes claims to nitrogen functional groups of carbon nanotubes having application to energy storage and high strength materials. Claim 1 reads:

1. A carbon nanotube, comprising

a structure of CNT-Zn, wherein said CNT is directly attached to said Z via a covalent bond;

said n is from 1 to 1,000;

said CNT is a carbon nanotube with at least two ends and at least one side wall; and

said Z is a nitrogen based functional group, and wherein an amount of acidic sites on said CNT is in a range of approximately 9.6-11%.