THE STUDY:

The sporting goods market has seen an increase in the number of carbon nanotube (CNT)-containing products offered because of the extraordinary strength and performance enhancement imparted by CNT. The goal of this study was to determine the chemical composition and distribution of CNT within a baseball bat manufactured with carbon nanotube technology.

THE ANALYSIS:

Capitalizing on the unique Raman spectra of single wall and multi-walled CNT, confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) was used to identify the type of nanotubes present and obtain distribution maps of the CNT-containing material within the bat’s core. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to confirm the presence of CNT in the core material.

TEM Image of Bat Nanotubes in Epoxy

THE OUTCOME:

The results indicated that the bat contained multi-walled CNT heterogeneously distributed throughout the epoxy binder of the carbon fibers. Moreover, confocal Raman microscopy was found to be an effective, efficient, and often non-destructive technique for routine determination of CNT distribution in composite materials. CRM also has the ability to distinguish CNT from other carbonaceous materials such as C60, polymers, or epoxies present in consumer products.