Carbon Nanotubes

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  • Topic: Carbon nanotube, Carbon, Graphite
  • Pages : 4 (1268 words )
  • Download(s) : 114
  • Published : February 22, 2011
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Within the last few decades, the world of Chemistry has progressed immensely. From a Chemistry Nobel Peace Prize being awarded for synthesizing molecules, to the creation and broad use of carbon nanotubes, chemists are creating ground breaking science in laboratories all over the world. Carbon nanotubes, being one of the newest advances in science, are also called buckytubes. They are allotropes, or a variation structure, of carbon with the shape of a cylinder. These molecules have man different properties that allow them to be used in electronics, optics, nanotechnology, and possibly in architecture. These strong structures belong to the fullerene structural family and have unique energy properties. The chemical bonding of carbon nanotubes is what makes them so strong. This abundant strength in built through natural alignment into a “rope” that is held together by forces, known as van der waals force.

There are six different structures of carbon nanotubes; single-walled, multi-walled, torus, nanobud, cup stacked carbon nanotubes, and extreme carbon nanotubes. The two most common structures are single-walled and multi-walled. In both structures, sheets of graphite, called grapheme, are wrapped around the “ropes” of carbon nanotubes and create a seamless cylinder. In single-walled carbon nanotubes, only one sheet is wrapped versus multi-walled carbon nanotubes where multiple sheets a wrapped around the “ropes” to conceptualize the structures. Single-walled carbon nanotubes exert electrical properties that multi-walled carbon nanotubes do not. These single-walled structures are used in electronics, such as a simple electrical wire. Multi-walled structures have a resistance to chemicals which produces modifications in the electrical and mechanical properties of the nanotubes. Torus nanotubes are thought to have unique magnetic propertes and immense thermal stability. Nanobuds were recently discovered by combining two already discovered allotropes of carbon (carbon...
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