Carbon

Nanotubes

OUTLINE

FORMS OF CARBON
STRUCTURE
PREPERATION
PROPERTIES
APPLICATIONS

FORMS OF CARBON
Carbon exits in different allotropic

forms
These include diamond ,graphite and
c 60 etc
Diamond is the hardest known form
of carbon
In graphite the carbon is in sp2
hybridisation

STRUCTURE

CNT: Rolling-up a graphene

sheet to form a tube

 Carbon nano tubes are obtained by rolling up

the graphene sheets which occur in graphite

Depending on how the sheets are rolled they
are classified as zigzag,armchair and chiral
tubes
The nano tubes may contain single graphite
sheet so they are called single walled tubes
(SWNT)
They are also multiwalled carbon nano
tubes(MWNT)

Carbon nanotube

a1, a2 are the graphene

vectors.
OB/AB overlaps after rolling
up.
OA is the rolling up vector.

Institute of Optics, University of

Rochester

STRUCTURE AND
TYPES OF NANO TUBES

PREPERATION
CARBON NANO TUBES CAN BE MADE BY CHEMICAL

VAPOUR DEPOSITION METHOD ,CARBON ARC

METHODS AND LASER EVAPOURATION

1.

PREPERATION OF CNTS BY CVD

PROPERTIES
CARBON NANO TUBES ARE INSOLUBLE IN WATER DUE TO THE NON POLAR

NATURE OF BONDS BETWEEN THEM.

SWNTS EXHIBIT EXCELLENT THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY IN INERT
ATMOSPHERES
SMALL DIAMETER TUBES BURN AT LOWER TEMPERATURE THAN LARGE
DIAMETER TUBES DUE TO THE DIFFERENCE IN STRAIN ENERGY

ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
CARBON NANOTUBES CAN BE MEATLLIC OR SEMICONDUCTING

DEPENDING ON THE DIAMETER AND CHIRALITY OF THE TUBE

CHIRALITY REFERS TO HOW THE TUBES ARE ROLLED W.R.T DIRECTION OF
THE T-VECTOR IN THE GRAPHITE PLANE
IN METALIC STATE THE CONDUCTIVITY OF THE TUBES IS VERY HIGH
HIGH CURRENTS DONT HEAT THE TUBE

 THERMAL PROPERTIES
CARBON NANO TUBES ALSO HAVE HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

WHICH IS ALMOST THE DOUBLE THAT OF DIAMOND

MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
WHWN CARBON TUBES ARE BENT ,THEY ARE VERY RESILIENT
.THEY BUCKLE LIKE STRAWS BUT DONT BREAK AND CAN BE
STRAIGHTENED BACK WITHOUT ANY DAMAGE
NANO TUBES ARE 20 TIMES STRONGER THAN STEEL

APPLICATIONS

FIELD EMISSIONS

WHEN A SMALL ELECTRIC FIELD IS APPLIED PARALLEL TO THE AXIS OF THE NANO TUBE

.ELECTRONS ARE EMITTED AT A VERY HIGH RATE FROM THE ENDS OF THE TUBE .THIS IS
CALLED FIELD EMISSION.
NANO TUBES ARE ALSO BEING USED EXPLORED TO BE USED AS ELECTRON SOURCES IN
PORTABLE X-RAY GENERATORS

ELECTRONICS APPLICATIONS

 SENSOR APPLICATIONS
CARBON NANO TUBES CAN BE USED AS SENSITIVE ,LOW POWER DEVICE FOR

SETECTING THE PRESENCE AND CONCENTRATION OF VARIOUS GASES

STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS
NANOTUBES HAVE THE IDEAL COMBINATION OF MECHANICAL STRENGTH AND

ASPECT RATO (THE RATIO OF LENGTH TO THE DIAMETER) AND CAN BE USED AS
FIBER REINFORCING ELEMENTS IN STRUCTURAL COMPOSITES
POLYMER BASED COMPOSITES WITH CARBON NANOTUBES HAVE BEEN
DEMONSTRATED TO SHOW SUPRERIOR MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

FUEL CELLS
CARBON NANO TUBES CAN BE USED FOR STORING LITHIUM IN LITHIUM BASED

BATTERIES
NANO TUBES ARE ALSO BEING CONSIDERED FOR HYDROGEN STRORAGE
APPLICATIONS

ACURATORS
ACURATORS ARE DEVICES THAT CONVERT ELECTRICAL ENERGY TO MECHANICAL

ENERGY
AND VICE VERSA

CATALYSTS

CARBON NANO TUBES ARE FOUND TO BE USEFUL AS CATALYTIC AGENTS IN

A POWDER OF CNTS

Any queries?