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Testing Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes on Ion Erosion for Advanced Space Propulsion

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Abstract

Are carbon nanotubes more resistant than diamonds against ion erosion? Here, we report an evaluation of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as the protective coating against plasma erosion in advanced space propulsion systems. We have compared polycrystalline diamond films with MWNTs, amorphous carbon (a-C) and boron nitride (BN) films. Two types of MWNTs were investigated including vertically aligned (VA) MWNTs, and those horizontally laid on the substrate surfaces. Only diamond films and VA-MWNTs survived erosion by 250 eV krypton ions of a flight-quality Hall-effect thruster. VA-MWNTs are found to bundle at their tips after ion erosion.

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Acknowledgments

Y.K.Y. acknowledges supports from the Michigan Tech Research Excellence Fund and the Army Research Office (W911NF-04-1-0029, through the City College of New York). S.D. and Y.G. were supported by DOE grant BSE- DE-FJ02-01ER45932.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Yoke Khin Yap, Jitendra Menda, Lakshman Kumar Vanga, Vijaya Kayastha & Jiesheng Wang

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Lyon B. King

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering and A. J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Svetlana Dimovski & Yury Gogotsi

Authors
  1. Yoke Khin Yap
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  2. Jitendra Menda
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  3. Lakshman Kumar Vanga
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  4. Vijaya Kayastha
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  5. Jiesheng Wang
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  6. Lyon B. King
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  7. Svetlana Dimovski
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  8. Yury Gogotsi
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Correspondence to Yoke Khin Yap.

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Yap, Y.K., Menda, J., Vanga, L.K. et al. Testing Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes on Ion Erosion for Advanced Space Propulsion. MRS Online Proceedings Library 821, 147–151 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-821-P3.7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-821-P3.7

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