US Patent 7923403 - Preparing catalysts supported on CNT networks

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7923403.html

This patent from Hyperion Catalysis teaches a way to improve the concentration and dispersion of metal catalysts within carbon nanotube networks. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for preparing a supported catalyst comprising the steps of:

de-aggregating aggregates of carbon nanotubes to provide de-aggregated carbon nanotubes;

functionalizing said de-aggregated carbon nanotubes to provide functionalized carbon nanotubes;

loading metal catalysts onto said functionalized carbon nanotubes to provide metal loaded carbon nanotubes; and

forming a carbon nanotube network structure from said metal loaded carbon nanotubes with a linking agent.