US Patent 7988861 - Tangled nanotube growth

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7988861.html

This patent from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris, France teaches a way to form larger catalyst material from carbon nanotubes. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process for preparing a solid material based on tangled nanofibres and/or nanotubes, comprising:

growing carbon nanotubes and/or nanofibres under constraint within a confined reactor, said growing comprising the following successive steps:

(a) growing the carbon nanotubes and/or nanofibres within the confined reactor, until the nanotubes and/or nanofibres formed occupy an essential of an internal space within the reactor; and

(b) continuing growth of the nanotubes and/or nanofibres under constraint, whereby material in formation applies pressure against the reactor walls.