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Carbon nanotube
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are carbon molecule with a cylindrical shape. The structure
and chemical bonds of CNTs result in unique strength, electrical, and thermal properties.
Nanotubes are often but not necessarily, composed of carbon, and having remarkable strength
and electrical properties. Carbon is a chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. It is
nonmetallic and tetravalent. Know to be fifteenth must abundant element on earth and the fourth
on space. Carbon is unique among the elements in its ability to form strongly bonded chains,
Throughout the years scientist have studied the fiscal properties of carbon. The atoms of
carbon can bond together in different ways, one of his allotropes are diamond, graphite,
graphene, amorphous and fullerene. All this material came from the same element; however,
they have different physical and chemical properties. These materials have great conductivity
A fullerene is a molecule of carbon in the form of a hollow sphere, ellipsoid, tube, and
many other shapes. “Fullerene later named buckminsterfullerene’s in reference to the geodesic
domes of the American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, were predicted in 1970 by a
Japanese chemist, Eiji Osawa” (3), Buckminsterfullerene is a spherical fullerene molecule with
Fullerene or C60 discovered naturally in space It was first generated in 1985 by Harold
Kroto, James R. Heath, Sean O'Brien, Robert Curl, and Richard Smalley at Rice
University. Kroto, Curl and Smalley were awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their
roles in the discovery of buckminsterfullerene and the related class of molecules. Carbon
The discovery of carbon nanotubes published in 1991 has grab the attention of scientist
from all over the world because of his unusual and great properties. “The researchers across the
world have been trying their level best to exploit the electrical, mechanical, thermal, magnetic
and biocompatible properties of carbon nanotubes” (VII). Carbon nanotubes have many
structures, differing in length, thickness, and number of layers, it will depend on how the
With a diameter of 1 nm, carbon nanotubes basically are allotropes of carbon consisting
of graphene sheets rolled into a cylinder and can be produced in various ways “The most
common techniques are: arc discharge, laser ablation, chemical vapor deposition and flame
synthesis. Purification of the carbon nanotubes can be divided into techniques such as:
oxidation, acid treatment, annealing, sonication, filtering and functionalization” (VIII). One of
the process to make CNT is a slightly modified version of the method used for fullerene
accumulate on the cathode. There are many different types of carbon nanotubes, but they are
nanometer. The way the graphene sheet is wrapped is represented by a pair of indices (n,m). The
integers n and m denote the number of unit vectors along two directions in the honeycomb lattice
of graphene. If m = 0, the nanotubes are called zigzag nanotubes, and if n = m, the nanotubes are
called armchair nanotubes. Otherwise, they are called chiral. A single-walled carbon nanotube is
diameters. They can range from one outer and one inner tube (a double-walled nanotube) to as
many as 100 tubes (walls) or more. Each tube is held at a certain distance from either of its
integrated into a composite structure. One must note that the outer wall alone is conducting, the
Physical: Defect–free, individual, MWNTs have an excellent tensile strength and when
Chemical: MWNTs are an allotrope of sp2 hybridized carbon similar to graphite and
fullerenes and as such have high chemical stability. However, one can functionalize the
precisely nested within one another. MWNTs exhibits a striking telescoping property whereby an
inner nanotube core may slide. This used to be almost without friction, within its outer nanotube
shell, thus creating an atomically perfect linear or rotational bearing. Already, this property has
been utilized to create the world's smallest rotational motor. Future applications such as a
nanotubes are wave absorption characteristics, specifically microwave absorption. Interest in this
research is due to the current military push for radar absorbing materials (RAM) to better the
stealth characteristics of aircraft and other military vehicles. There has been little research on
filling MWNTs with metals, such as Fe, Ni, Co, etc., to increase the absorption effectiveness of
MWNTs in the microwave regime. So far, this research has shown improvements in both
The challenges in commercializing MWNTs include the following: dispersion, these have
better dispensability into solutions or polymers than SWNTs; howevery, the quality of the
dispersion obtained is a critical factor in the performance of the final product, purity many
MWNTs processes cause considerable residual metallic catalyst which can be detrimental to
performance, and defects, the number of defects is dependent on the number of layers within
MWNTs. The high aspect ratio of MWNTs contributes much of the value of their use.
Competitive materials show defects and impurities. Tubes may fracture during dispersion at
defect sites, bringing down the number of electrical pathways and the resulting conductivity.
News India has published an article saying “Carbon nanotubes are single atomic sheets
of carbon rolled up into a tube. As some of the best electrical conductors ever
discovered, carbon nanotubes have long been recognized as a promising material for next-
generation transistors” (new material). Even thou it was discovery more than two decades ago
new studies and technology are allowing sciences to go faster on this discovering.
The discovery of carbon nanotube will change the way of many materials, for now it has
been tests in very few areas, since is still a new discovery in modern science, his application on
today’s technology are still developing. It has been a great new for the creation of new strong
and conductive material that could replace or regular conductive material that have been use un
Applications. vol. 2nd ed. edited by Fernando Langa de la Puente and Jean-Francois.
Mishra, Ajay Kumar. Carbon Nanotubes: Synthesis and Properties. Nova Science Publishers,
http://www.nanoscience.com/applications/education/overview/cnt-technology-overview/
News India - Times; New York, N.Y. New Material Promises Higher-performance