What are Carbon Nanotubes?
Carbon Nanotubes Definition
A carbon nanotube is a carbon allotrope that resembles a tube of carbon atoms. Carbon nanotubes are extremely robust and difficult to break, but they are still light.
Because of their exceptional mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties, carbon nanotubes are one of the most investigated nanomaterials. Multiwall carbon nanotubes feature several concentric cylindrical lattices of carbon atoms, whereas single wall carbon nanotubes have only one cylinder of carbon atoms.
Buckytube is another name for carbon nanotubes. Two-dimensional graphite is folded or rolled into a cylindrical shape structure to create nanotubes. Inside, nanotubes are hollow. The nanotube has a diameter of 1-3 nanometers.
Table of Contents
- Carbon Nanotubes Structure
- Carbon Nanotubes Properties
- Carbon Nanotubes Uses & Applications
- Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Carbon Nanotubes Structure
Carbon Nanotubes Properties
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a type of carbon with a diameter of nanometers and a length of micrometres (where the length to diameter ratio exceeds 1000). CNT is made up of enrolled cylindrical graphitic sheets (named graphene) wrapped up into a seamless cylinder with a nanometer-sized diameter.
- Electrical Conductivity – Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are electrically and thermally conductive and have a high mechanical strength. Parallel arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT forests) can be drawn into electrically conductive continuous length webs.
- Strength And Elasticity – In terms of tensile strength and elastic modulus, carbon nanotubes are the strongest and stiffest materials yet found.
- Thermal Conductivity And Expansion – The carbon bond’s rigidity aids in the transmission of vibrations throughout the nanotube, resulting in excellent heat conductivity. Because each carbon atom is connected to three other carbon atoms by strong covalent bonds, carbon nanotubes have an extremely high melting point. This also leaves a spare electron on each carbon atom, resulting in a sea of delocalized electrons within the tube, allowing nanotubes to conduct electricity.
- Electron Emission – Because each carbon atom is connected to three other carbon atoms by strong covalent bonds, carbon nanotubes have an extremely high melting point. This also means that each carbon atom has an extra electron, forming a sea of delocalized electrons within the tube, allowing nanotubes to conduct electricity.
Carbon Nanotubes Uses & Applications
- Carbon nanotubes are utilized in energy storage, device modelling, automotive parts, boat hulls, sporting goods, water filters, thin-film electronics, coatings, actuators, and electromagnetic shields.
- Because of their large surface area, CNTs have been successfully used in pharmacy and medicine to adsorb or conjugate a wide range of medicinal and diagnostic substances.
- CNTs have a number of unique chemical, size, optical, electrical, and structural properties that make them appealing as drug delivery and biosensing platforms for the treatment of a variety of diseases and noninvasive monitoring of blood levels and other chemical properties of the human body, respectively.
- Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have unique qualities, such as high surface-to-volume ratios, increased conductivity and strength, biocompatibility, ease of functionalization, optical properties, and so on.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
What elements are in carbon nanotubes?
The CNTs contained several elements, including Hg, Pb, F, Cl, and halogens. While CNTs are known to be produced from coal fires of varying ranks, this seems to be the first report of naturally occurring CNTs.
Are carbon nanotubes man made?
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have a broad range of applications and are generally considered human-engineered nanomaterials.
What are carbon nanotubes and their types?
Three types of CNTs are armchair carbon nanotubes, zigzag carbon nanotubes, and chiral carbon nanotubes. The difference in these types of carbon nanotubes are created depending on how the graphite is “rolled up” during its creation process.
How are nanotubes made?
Techniques have been developed to produce carbon nanotubes in sizable quantities, including arc discharge, laser ablation, high-pressure carbon monoxide disproportionation, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Most of these processes take place in a vacuum or with process gases.
Are carbon nanotubes the same as graphene?
Carbon nanotubes and graphene are two of the most recently discovered forms of carbon. The main difference is, the Graphene is a single thin layer 2D film, while the carbon nanotubes in a thin film rolled like a 3D tube or cylinder.
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