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CARBON NANOTUBES
Allotropes of carbon Length to diameter ratio greater than 1,000,000. Conductors of heat Useful in nanotechnology, optics, electronics and architecture.

DISCOVERY
Fullerene

related nanotubes discovered by Japanese scientist Sumio Iijima in 1991 by arc evaporation process.
at least two layers and ranged in outer diameter from about 3 nm to 30 nm.
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Contained

TIMELINE
1952-Radushkevich and Lukyanovich publish a paper in the Soviet Journal of Physical Chemistry showing hollow graphitic carbon fibers that are 50.34 nanometers in diameter. 1976-Oberlin, Endo and Koyama report CVD growth of nanometer-scale carbon fibers. 1985-Fullerenes discovered. 1991-Nanotubes discovered in the soot of arc discharge at NEC, by Japanese researcher Sumio Iijima. 1993-Donald S. Bethune at IBM and Sumio Iijima at NEC discover single-wall carbon nanotubes and methods to produce them using transition-metal catalysts.

1997-First carbon nanotube single-electron transistors (operating at low temperature) are demonstrated by groups at Delft University and UC Berkeley. 2001-IBM announces a technique for automatically developing pure semiconductor surfaces from nanotubes. 2003-High purity (20% impure) nanotubes with metallic properties were reported to be extracted with electrophoretic techniques. 2005- A prototype high-definition 10-centimetre flat screen made using nanotubes was exhibited. University of California finds Y-shaped nanotubes to be ready-made transistors. 2006-Nanotubes were alloyed into the carbon fiber bike that won the 2006 Tour de France.

TYPES OF CARBON NANOTUBES

SINGLE WALLED NANOTUBES (SWNT)

Diameter of 1nm. Wrap of a one-atom-thick layer of graphite called graphene into a seamless cylinder. The way the sheet is wrapped is represented by a pair of indices (n,m) called the chiral vector. n and m denote the number of unit vectors along two directions in the crystal lattice. If m=0---zigzag n=m---armchair Otherwise chiral

MULTI (MWNT)

WALLED

NANOTUBES

Multiple layers of graphite Resistant to chemicals MWNT synthesis on the gram-scale was first proposed in 2003 by the CCVD technique, from the selective reduction of oxides solid solutions in methane and hydrogen.

PROPERTIES OF CNT
Strongest and stiffest materials on earth Highest tensile strength and elastic modulus Covalent sp bonding Low density High specific strength Transparency High electrical and thermal conductivity High flexibility Under excessive tensile strain, the tubes will undergo plastic deformation Buckle when placed under compressive, torsional or bending stress.

METHODS OF SYNTHESIS
Various techniques developed to prepare CNTs are as follows: arc discharge laser ablation high pressure carbon monoxide (HiPCO) chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

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ARC DISCHARGE PROCESS

carbon is vaporized between two carbon electrodes synthesized using a Miller XTM 304 dc arc welder in helium or argon atmosphere voltage controlled by an automatic feedback loop

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LASER ABLATION PROCESS

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CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION (CVD)

first reported in 1959 1993- CNTs formed by this process a substrate is prepared with a layer of metal catalyst particles like Ni, Co, Fe, etc. heated to approx 700C. To initiate the growth of nanotubes, two gases bled into the reactor: a process gas (ammonia, nitrogen, hydrogen, etc.) and a carbon-containing gas (acetylene, ethylene, ethanol, methane, etc.). Nanotubes grow at the sites of the metal catalyst; the carbon-containing gas is broken apart at the surface of the catalyst particle Carbon is transported to the edges of the particle, where it forms the nanotubes.

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POTENTIAL AND CURRENT APPLICATIONS

space elevators, clothes and sports gear ideal components of electrical circuits as a vessel for transporting drugs into the body as composite fibers in polymers used in the construction of handlebars for mountain bikes. present in Damascus steel research is being made into weaving them into clothes to create stab-proof and bulletproof clothing.

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The joining of two carbon nanotubes with different electrical properties to form a diode has been proposed.

REFERENCES:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki http://www.nanotech-now.com/nanotube-buckyballsites.htm http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/1761 www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~scsharip/tubes.htm

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THE END
Made By:
Deepshikha Gandhi T-4 & Madhuri Gambhir S-18
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