Carbon Nanotubes And Its Applications: A Review (original) (raw)
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Recent Insights and Multifactorial Applications of Carbon Nanotubes
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Nanotechnology has undergone significant development in recent years, particularly in the fabrication of sensors with a wide range of applications. The backbone of nanotechnology is nanostructures, which are determined on a nanoscale. Nanoparticles are abundant throughout the universe and are thought to be essential building components in the process of planet creation. Nanotechnology is generally concerned with structures that are between 1 and 100 nm in at least one dimension and involves the production of materials or electronics that are that small. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are carbon-based nanomaterials that have the structure of tubes. Carbon nanotubes are often referred to as the kings of nanomaterials. The diameter of carbon is determined in nanometers. They are formed from graphite sheets and are available in a variety of colors. Carbon nanotubes have a number of characteristics, including high flexibility, good thermal conductivity, low density, and chemical stability. Carb...
Emerging Materials Research, 2013
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are nature’s finest gift to mankind, the most amazing and wonderful nanostructure that the human being has discovered so far. CNT are either single walled or multiwalled and have been studied extensively. A large number of research articles, review articles and books have been published on this topic. However, review articles covering all the aspects of CNT are rarely found. This article gives an overview of CNT in terms of classification, synthesis, characterization, functionalization, properties, composites, applications and future directions.
CARBON NANOTUBES SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS
The extraordinary mechanical properties and unique electrical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have stimulated extensive research activities across the world since their discovery by Sumio Iijima of the NEC Corporation in the early 1990s. Although early research focused on growth and characterization, these interesting properties have led to an increase in the number of investigations focused on application development in the past 5 years. The breadth of applications for carbon nanotubes is indeed wide ranging: nanoelectronics, quantum wire interconnects, field emission devices, composites, chemical sensors, biosensors, detectors, etc. There are no CNT-based products currently on the market with mass market appeal, but some are in the making. In one sense, that is not surprising because time-to-market from discovery typically takes a decade or so. Given that typical time scale, most current endeavors are not even halfway down that path. The community is beginning to move beyond the wonderful properties that interested them in CNTs and are beginning to tackle real issues associated with converting a material into a device, a device into a system, and so on. At this point in the development phase of CNT-based applications, this book attempts to capture a snap shot of where we are now and what the future holds. Chapter 1 describes the structure and properties of carbon nanotubes — though well known and described in previous textbooks — both as an introduction and for the sake of completeness in a book like this one. In understanding the properties, the modeling efforts have been trailblazing and have uncovered many interesting properties, which were later verified by hard characterization experiments. For this reason, modeling and simulation are introduced early in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 is devoted to the two early techniques that produced single-walled nanotubes, namely, arc synthesis and laser ablation. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and related techniques (Chapter 4) emerged later as a viable alternative for patterned growth, though CVD was widely used in early fiber development efforts in the 1970s and 1980s. These chapters on growth are followed by a chapter devoted to a variety of imaging techniques and characterization (Chapter 5). Important techniques such as Raman spectroscopy are covered in this chapter. The focus on applications starts with the use of single-walled and multiwalled carbon nanotubes in scanning probe microscopy in Chapter 6. In addition to imaging metallic, semiconducting, dielectric, and biological surfaces, these probes also find applications in semiconductor metrology such as profilometry and scanning probe lithography. Chapter 7 summarizes efforts to date on making CNT-based diodes and transistors and attempts to explain the behavior of these devices based on well-known semiconductor device physics theories explained in undergraduate and graduate textbooks. It is commonly forecast that silicon CMOS device scaling based on Moore’s law may very well end in 10 or 15 years. The industry has been solving the technical problems in CMOS scaling impressively even as we embark on molecular electronics, as has been the case with the semiconductor industry in the past 3 decades. Therefore, for those pursuing alternatives such as CNT electronics and molecular electronics, the silicon electronics is a moving target and the message is clear: replacing silicon-conducting channel simply with a CNT-conducting channel in a CMOS may not be of much value — alternative architectures;different state variable (such as spin)-based systems; and coupling functions such as computing, memory, and sensing are what can set the challengers apart from the incumbent. Unfortunately, at the writing of this book, there is very little effort in any of these directions, and it is hoped that such alternatives emerge, succeed, and flourish. Field emission by carbon nanotubes is very attractive for applications such as flat panel displays, x-ray tubes, etc. The potential for commercial markets in television and computer monitors, cell phones, and other such displays is so enormous that this application has attracted not only much academic research but also substantial industrial investment. Chapter 8 discusses principles of field emission, processes to fabricate the emitters, and applications. One application in particular, making an x-ray tube, is covered in great detail from principles and fabrication to testing and characterization. With every atom residing on the surface in a single-walled carbon nanotube, a very small change in the ambient conditions can change the properties (for example, conductivity) of the nanotube. This change can be exploited in developing chemical sensors. The nanotubes are amenable to functionalization by attaching chemical groups, DNA, or proteins either on the end or sidewall. This also allows developing novel sensors using nanotubes. Chapter 9 discusses principles and development of chemical and physical sensors. Likewise, Chapter 10 describes biosensor development. The mechanical, thermal, and physical properties of carbon nanotubes have resulted in numerous studies on conducting polymer films, composites, and other structural applications. Chapter 11 captures these developments. Finally, all other applications that elude the above prime categories are summarized in Chapter 12. This is an edited volume, and various authors who practice the craft of carbon nanotubes day to day have contributed to this volume. I have made an effort to make this edited volume into a cohesive text. I hope that the readers — students and other researchers getting into this field, industry, and even the established experts — find this a valuable addition to the literature in carbon nanotubes. I would like to thank Nora Konopka of the CRC Press for her support throughout this work. Finally, this book would not have been possible without the help and skills of my assistant Amara de Keczer. I would like to thank her also for the cover design of the book.
Carbon Nanotubes and Related Structures: New Materials for the Twenty-First Century
American Journal of Physics, 2004
Introduction 1.1 The discovery of fullerene-related carbon nanotubes 1.2 Characteristics of multiwalled nanotubes 1.3 Single-walled nanotubes 1.4 Pre-1991 evidence for carbon nanotubes 1.5 Nanotube research 1.6 Organisation of the book References 2 Synthesis: Preparation methods, growth mechanisms and processing techniques 2.1 Production of multiwalled nanotubes: non-catalytic methods 2.1.1 The arc-evaporation technique 2.1.2 The quality of nanotube samples produced by arc-evaporation 2.1.3 Safety considerations 2.1.4 Condensation of carbon vapour in the absence of an electric field 2.1.5 Pyrolytic methods 2.1.6 Electrochemical synthesis of nanotubes 2.2 Experiments on the heat treatment of fullerene soot 2.3 Catalytically produced multiwalled nanotubes 2.3.1 Background 2.3.2 Growth mechanisms of catalytically produced nanotubes 2.3.3 Synthesis of aligned nanotubes by catalysis vii 2.4 Nanotubes on TEM support grids: a word of warning 2.5 Single-walled nanotubes 2.5.1 Discovery 2.5.2 Subsequent work on single-walled tubes 2.5.3 Nanotube 'ropes' 2.6 Theories of nanotube growth 2.6.1 General comments 2.6.2 Why do tubes remain open during growth? 2.6.3 Properties of the arc plasma 2.6.4 An alternative model 2.6.5 Growth of single-walled nanotubes 2.7 Purification of multiwalled tubes 2.8 Purification of single-walled tubes 2.9 Alignment of nanotube samples 2.10 Length control of carbon nanotubes 2.11 Discussion References 3 Structure 3.1 Classification of tubular biological structures 3.2 Bonding in carbon materials 3.3 The structure of carbon nanotubes: theoretical discussion 3.3.1 Vector notation for carbon nanotubes 3.3.2 Unit cells of nanotubes 3.3.3 Multiwalled nanotubes 3.3.4 Theory of nanotube capping 3.3.5 Symmetry classification of nanotubes 3.3.6 Elbow connections, tori and coils 3.3.7 Arrays of single-walled nanotubes 3.4 The physical stability of carbon nanotubes 3.5 Experimental studies of nanotube structure: multiwalled nanotubes 3.5.1 Techniques 3.5.2 The layer structure: experimental observations 3.5.3 The layer structure: models 3.5.4 Electron diffraction 3.5.5 Plan-view imaging by HREM 3.5.6 The cross-sectional shape of multiwalled nanotubes 3.5.7 HREM studies of cap structure 3.5.8 Elbow connections and branching structures viii Contents 3.6 Experimental studies of nanotube structure: single-walled nanotubes 3.6.1 High resolution electron microscopy and electron diffraction 3.6.2 Scanning probe microscopy 3.6.3 Nanotube hoops and diameter doubling 3.7 Structure of carbon nanoparticles 3.8 Nanocones 3.9 Discussion References 4 The physics of nanotubes 4.1 Electronic properties of graphite and carbon fibres 4.1.1 Band structure of graphite 4.1.2 Transport properties of graphite, disordered carbons and carbon fibres 4.1.3 Magnetoresistance of graphite and carbon fibres 4.2 Electronic properties of nanotubes: theory 4.2.1 Band structure of single-walled tubes 4.2.2 Band structure of multiwalled tubes 4.2.3 Electron transport in nanotubes 4.2.4 Nanotube junctions 4.2.5 Electronic properties of nanotubes in a magnetic field 4.3 Electronic properties of nanotubes: experimental measurements 4.3.1 Resistivity measurements on multiwalled nanotubes 4.3.2 Resistivity measurements on single-walled nanotubes 4.3.3 Doping of nanotube bundles 4.3.4 Electron spin resonance 4.4 Magnetic properties of nanotubes 4.5 Optical properties of nanotubes 4.6 Vibrational properties of nanotubes 4.6.1 Symmetry of vibrational modes 4.6.2 Experimental IR and Raman spectra: multiwalled nanotubes 4.6.3 Experimental IR and Raman spectra: single-walled nanotubes 4.7 Electron energy loss spectroscopy of nanotubes 4.8 Nanotube field emitters 4.9 Discussion References ix Contents 5 Nanocapsules and nanotest-tubes 5.1 Metallofullerenes 5.2 Filling nanotubes and nanoparticles by arc-evaporation 5.2.1 Early work 5.2.2 Further studies 5.3 Preparation of filled nanoparticles from microporous carbon 5.4 Properties of filled nanoparticles 5.4.1 Protection from environmental degradation 5.4.2 Encapsulation of magnetic materials 5.4.3 Encapsulation of radioactive materials 5.5 Technegas 5.6 Opening and filling of nanotubes using chemical methods and capillarity 5.6.1 The work of Ajayan and Iijima 5.6.2 Selective opening using gas-phase oxidants 5.6.3 Opening by treatment with nitric acid 5.6.4 Alternative liquid-phase oxidants 5.6.5 Filling with molten materials 5.6.6 Experiments on capillarity and wetting 5.6.7 Chemistry and crystallisation in nanotubes 5.6.8 Biological molecules in nanotubes 5.7 Filling of single-walled nanotubes 5.8 Storing gases in nanotubes 5.9 Discussion References 6 The ultimate carbon fibre? The mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes 6.1 Conventional carbon fibres 6.2 Graphite whiskers 6.3 Catalytically grown carbon fibres 6.4 Mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes 6.4.1 Theoretical predictions 6.4.2 Experimental observations using TEM: qualitative 6.4.3 Experimental observations using TEM: quantitative 6.4.4 Experimental observations using scanning probe microscopy 6.5 Carbon nanotube composites 6.5.1 Introduction 6.5.2 Bonding between nanotubes and matrix x Contents 6.5.3 Aspect ratio 6.5.4 Experiments on incorporating nanotubes into a matrix 6.5.5 Applications of nanotube-containing composites 6.6 Nanotubes as tips for scanning probe microscopes 6.7 Discussion References 7 Curved crystals, inorganic fullerenes and nanorods 7.1 Chrysotile and imogolite 7.2 Inorganic fullerenes from layered metal dichalcogenides 7.2.1 Synthesis of chalcogenide fullerenes 7.2.2 Structure of chalcogenide fullerenes 7.2.3 Inorganic fullerenes as solid-state lubricants 7.3 Nanotubes and nanoparticles containing boron and nitrogen 7.3.1 Boron-carbon-nitride tubes 7.3.2 Pure boron nitride tubes and nanoparticles 7.3.3 Structure of boron nitride tubes and nanoparticles 7.4 Carbide nanorods 7.5 Discussion References 8 Carbon onions and spheroidal carbon 8.1 Carbon onions 8.1.1 Discovery 8.1.2 Ugarte's experiments: irradiation of cathodic soot 8.1.3 Production of onions from other carbons 8.1.4 The structure of carbon onions 8.1.5 Formation mechanism of carbon onions 8.1.6 Stability of carbon onions 8.1.7 Bulk synthesis of carbon onions 8.1.8 The formation of diamond inside carbon onions 8.2 Spheroidal carbon particles in soot 8.2.1 Background 8.2.2 Growth mechanisms: the traditional view 8.2.3 The icospiral growth mechanism 8.2.4 The structure of carbon black 8.3 Spherulitic graphite cast iron 8.3.1 History 8.3.2 The structure of spherulitic graphite 8.3.3 The precipitation process xi Contents 8.4 Spheroidal structures in mesophase pitch 8.5 Discussion References 9 Future directions 9.1 Towards a carbon nanotube chemistry 9.2 New all-carbon structures 9.3 Nanotubes in nanotechnology 9.4 Final thoughts References Name index Subject index xii Contents
Carbon Nanotubes: The Building Blocks of Nanotechnology Development
Carbon nanotubes' (CNTs) has become the building blocks of nano technology for energy system development, because of its astonished mechanical, energy storage and unique electronic properties. These ensure its relevancy for applications in enormous areas presently and in the future. Areas of applications include field emission devices, high-strength composition, sensors, nanobiomedicals, nanosystems, nano energy storage system and other related fields. This report reviewed CNTs' properties and how they are related to their physical and chemical structure. The design criteria for this material were critically reviewed which includes manufacture and cost savings. The growth of carbon nanotubes and manufacturing to its appropriate form such as purification, characterization and functionalization were comprehensively revised and reported. The current and future areas of applications of CNTs were identified; examples are nanoelectronics, scanning nanomicroscopy, biomedical sensors, nano energy storage system etc. This report is concluded with the progress made so far since CNTs were discovered and the potential challenges, potential solutions and it significant for meeting future energy needs among others.
Carbon nanotubes: synthesis, properties and engineering applications
Carbon nanotubes (CNT) represent one of the most unique materials in the field of nanotechnology. CNT are the allotrope of carbon having sp 2 hybridization. CNT are considered to be rolled-up graphene with a nanostructure that can have a length to diameter ratio greater than 1,000,000. CNT can be single-, double-, and multi-walled. CNT have unique mechanical, electrical, and optical properties, all of which have been extensively studied. The novel properties of CNT are their light weight, small size with a high aspect ratio, good tensile strength, and good conducting characteristics, which make them useful for various applications. The present review is focused on the structure, properties, toxicity, synthesis methods, growth mechanism and their applications. Techniques that have been developed to synthesize CNT in sizeable quantities, including arc discharge, laser ablation, chemical vapor deposition, etc., have been explained. The toxic effect of CNT is also presented in a summarized form. Recent CNT applications showing a very promising glimpse into the future of CNT in nanotechnology such as optics, electronics, sensing, mechanical, electrical, storage, and other fields of materials science are presented in the review.
Different Technical Applications of Carbon Nanotubes
Nanoscale Research Letters, 2015
Carbon nanotubes have been of great interest because of their simplicity and ease of synthesis. The novel properties of nanostructured carbon nanotubes such as high surface area, good stiffness, and resilience have been explored in many engineering applications. Research on carbon nanotubes have shown the application in the field of energy storage, hydrogen storage, electrochemical supercapacitor, field-emitting devices, transistors, nanoprobes and sensors, composite material, templates, etc. For commercial applications, large quantities and high purity of carbon nanotubes are needed. Different types of carbon nanotubes can be synthesized in various ways. The most common techniques currently practiced are arc discharge, laser ablation, and chemical vapor deposition and flame synthesis. The purification of CNTs is carried out using various techniques mainly oxidation, acid treatment, annealing, sonication, filtering chemical functionalization, etc. However, high-purity purification techniques still have to be developed. Real applications are still under development. This paper addresses the current research on the challenges that are associated with synthesis methods, purification methods, and dispersion and toxicity of CNTs within the scope of different engineering applications, energy, and environmental impact.
Carbon Nanotubes and Their Applications
2012
In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 978-981-4241-90-8 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-981-4303-18-7 (eBook) Cover image courtesy: Chao Liu Printed in the USA
The wondrous world of carbon nanotubes: Structure, synthesis, properties and applications
2015
In this paper we review history, types, structure and different synthesis methods for carbon nanotubes (CNTs) including arc discharge, laser ablation & chemical vapor deposition. CNTs are hollow carbon structures with one or more walls, a small diameter on the nanometer scale and a large length in comparison. Because of their remarkable electronic and mechanical properties, they are unique and exciting and offer tremendous opportunities for the development of fundamentally new material systems. These cylindrical carbon molecules have novel properties that make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology. Their unique surface area, stiffness, strength and resilience have led to much excitement in the field of pharmacy.
Carbon Nanotubes: Present and Future Commercial Applications
Science, 2013
Worldwide commercial interest in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is reflected in a production capacity that presently exceeds several thousand tons per year. Currently, bulk CNT powders are incorporated in diverse commercial products ranging from rechargeable batteries, automotive parts, and sporting goods to boat hulls and water filters. Advances in CNT synthesis, purification, and chemical modification are enabling integration of CNTs in thin-film electronics and large-area coatings. Although not yet providing compelling mechanical strength or electrical or thermal conductivities for many applications, CNT yarns and sheets already have promising performance for applications including supercapacitors, actuators, and lightweight electromagnetic shields.