Novel Nanocarbons—Structure, Properties, and Potential Applications

Abstract

The 1985 discovery of the third form of ordered carbon, commonly known as the fullerenes, spurred the subsequent discovery of a number of related novel forms of carbon. The most famous among these carbons are the nanotubes, sometimes referred to as buckytubes as well. In this review, I discuss the structure, properties, and potential applications of most of these novel carbons. It is also interesting to examine how the various forms of nanocarbons are related to one another, and the conditions under which one form transforms to another. From the vast amount of research that has been carried out over the last decade, it is apparent that some of these nanocarbons would have extremely unique properties that might be of value for specific applications that are being contemplated by various researchers. The real breakthrough for this technology would be new processing methods to produce such novel structures in commercial quantities.