Carbon Nanotubes and its Application in Nanotechnology

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes often refer to single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with diameters in the range of a nanometer. Single-wall carbon nanotubes are one of the allotropes of carbon, intermediate between fullerene cages and flat graphene. Carbon nanotubes also often refer to multi-wall carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs), consisting of nested single-wall carbon nanotubes, weakly bound together by van der Waals interactions in a tree ring-like structure. If not identical, these tubes are very similar to long straight and parallel carbon layers, cylindrically arranged around a hollow tube. Multi-wall carbon nanotubes are also sometimes used to refer to double and triple wall carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes can also refer to tubes with an undetermined carbon wall structure and diameters less than 100 nanometers. While nanotubes of other compositions exist, most research has been focused on the carbon ones. The length of a carbon nanotube produced by common production methods is typically much larger than its diameter. Thus, for many purposes, end effects are neglected and the length of carbon nanotubes is assumed infinite. Carbon nanotubes can exhibit remarkable unique properties. These include electrical conductivity, while others are semiconductors. They also have exceptional tensile strengthand thermal conductivity, because of their nanostructure and strength of the bonds between carbon atoms. In addition, they can be chemically modified. Thus, due to their variable, unique properties, carbon nanotubes have found applications in many realms such as electronics, optics, composite materials nanotechnology, and other applications of materials science. In addition, carbon nanotubes can be integrated into other molecules to form novel structures with unique properties, different from the individual reactants. These unique products have also found application in many realms of nanotechnology