Carbon Nanotubes and

its Applications.

By
Abisheka M (CB105PE002)
Gayathri M (CB105PE013)
Karthikeyan G (CB105PE023)
Sneha R (CB105PE036)
Introduction
• Carbon nanotubes are unique nanostructures
with remarkable electronic and mechanical
properties.
 
• Electronic transport properties, Raman
spectra, unusual mechanical properties -
Carbon nanotubes are potentially used in
nanometer-sized electronics and in a variety of
other applications.
 
• An ideal nanotube can be considered as a
hexagonal network of carbon atoms that has
been rolled up to make a seamless hollow
cylinder. Length – 10s of micrometers,
gle-wall nanotubes (SWNT) - a cylindrical shell with only one
m in thickness, can be considered as the fundamental struct
t.

uctural units form the building blocks of both multi-wall

otubes (MWNT) - containing multiple coaxial cylinders of
r- increasing diameter about a common axis.

notube ropes - consisting of ordered arrays of SWNTs arrange

a triangular lattice.

first reported observation of carbon nanotubes was by Iijima

991 for MWNTs.
fter the discovery of MWNTs, it took 2 years for the discovery
SWNTs, by Iijima using High-Resolution Transmission
ectron Microscopy (HRTEM).
The observation by TEM
of multi-wall coaxial
nanotubes with various
inner and outer
diameters, di and do,
and numbers of
cylindrical shells N
reported by Iijima in
1991: (a) N = 5, do=67Ǻ;
(b) N = 2, do=55 Ǻ; and
(c) N = 7, di=23 Ǻ,
do=65 Ǻ.
 
Carbon Materials
• Very small diameter (<10 nm) carbon
filaments were prepared through the synthesis
of vapor grown carbon fibers.

• In 1992, Russian workers also reported the

discovery of carbon nanotubes and nanotube
bundles, but generally having a much smaller
length to diameter ratio.
 
• The connection between carbon nanotubes
and fullerenes - terminations of the carbon
nanotubes were fullerene-like caps or
hemispheres.
e smallest reported diameter for a carbon nanotube is the sa
the diameter of the C60 molecule, which is the smallest
erene to follow the isolated pentagon rule.

s rule requires that no two pentagons be adjacent to one

other, thereby lowering the strain energy of the fullerene cag

ecent report shows that a carbon nanotube has a diameter o

nm.

bon nanotubes could be either semiconducting or metallic

pending on their geometrical characteristics like diameter an
orientation of their hexagons with respect to the nanotube a
996, aligned SWNTs were synthesized, with a small diameter
ribution - sensitive experiments relevant to 1D quantum phy

ual carbon nanotubes have finite length, contain defects, and

ract with other nanotubes or with the substrate and these fa
n complicate their behavior.
Relation of Carbon Nanotubes to
Other Carbon Materials

 Graphite
 Graphite Whiskers
 Carbon Fibers
 Liquid Carbon
Graphite
The ideal crystal structure - consists of layers in
which the carbon
atoms are arranged in an open honeycomb
network containing two
atoms per unit cell in each layer. (Labeled A and B
in fig.)
 
Bernal stacking arrangement – “ABAB”.
 
An in-plane nearest-neighbor distance aC−C of 1.421
Ǻ.
 
An in-plane lattice constant a0 of 2.462 Ǻ.
 
A c-axis lattice constant c of 6.708 Ǻ.
crystal structure is consistent with the space group and has
on atoms per unit cell.

consequence of the small value of aC−C in graphite is that

urity species are unlikely to enter the covalently bonded in-p
ce sites substitutionally (except for boron), but rather occupy
e interstitial position between the graphene layer planes whi
ded by a weak van der Waals force.

e are also applicable for Carbon nanotubes and substitution

ng of individual SWNTs with species other than boron is diffic

ddition, carbon nanotubes can adsorb other species on their

rnal and internal surfaces and in interstitial sites between ad
otubes.
The crystal structure of
hexagonal single crystal
graphite, in which the
two distinct planes of
carbon hexagons called
A and B planes are
stacked in an ABAB...
sequence. The notation
for the A and B planes
is not to be confused
with the two distinct
atoms A and B on a
single graphene plane.
An STM image showing
the trigonal network of
highly oriented pyrolytic
graphite (HOPG) in which
only one site of the
carbon hexagonal
network appears, as for
example, the B site,
denoted by black balls.
aphite Whiskers
raphite whisker is a graphitic material formed by rolling a
phene sheet up into a scroll (~3 cm long and 1–5 µm in diam

phite whiskers are formed in a dc discharge between carbon

ctrodes using 75–80V and 70–76A.

ibits great crystalline perfection, high electrical conductivity

h elastic modulus.

ilar to the growth of Carbon nanotubes.

phite whiskers were grown at a higher gas pressure, but not

otube growth.
WNTs are found to be concentric cylinders of much smaller o
ameter, but scroll-like structures have outer diameters less t
0nm.

arbon fibers
rbon fibers - graphite-related materials - close connection to
rbon nanotubes (structure and properties).

aving different cross- sectional morphologies.

aphene planes prefer orientation parallel to the fiber axis – h

echanical strength to carbon fibers.

por-grown fibers have “onion skin” or “tree ring” morpholog

ating around 2500°C shows a close resemblance to carbon
notubes.

ther heating about 3000°C, the outer regions of the vapor-g

bon fibers form facets. Graphite like - strong interplanar
relations.

e commercially available fibers are exploited for their extrem

h bulk modulus and high thermal conductivity.

N (polyacrylonitrile) fibers are widely used for their high tens

ength.

pical diameters for individual commercial carbon fibers are

7 µm, and they can be very long.
se fibers are woven into bundles called tows and are then w
as a continuous yarn on a spool.

se superior mechanical properties (modulus and tensile stre

compared equal to the steel.

der Compression - Carbon nanotubes are flexible (SWNTs), go

chanical properties (MWNTs) but Caron fibers fracture easily

nofibers - Vapor-grown carbon fibers (10-100 nm) – intermed

perties between VGCFs and MWNTs.
The morphology of VGCF:
• as-deposited at 1100◦C, (b)
after heat treatment to 3000◦C
The morphologies for
commercial mesophase-pitch
fibers are shown in (c) for a
“PAC-man” cross section with
a radial arrangement of the
straight graphene ribbons and
a missing wedge and (d) for a
PAN-AM cross-sectional
arrangement of graphene
planes. (e) a PAN fiber is
shown, with a circumferential
arrangement of ribbons in the
sheath region and a random
structure in the core.
Carbon nanotube exposed on the
breakage edge of a vapor- grown
carbon fiber as grown
• and heat-treated at 3000◦C
(b). The sample is fractured by
pulverization and the core
diameter is ~ 5nm. These
photos suggest a structural
discontinuity between the nanotube
core of the fiber and the outer
carbon layers deposited by chemical
vapor deposition techniques. The
photos show the strong mechanical
properties of the nanotube core,
which maintain its form after breakag
of the periphery.
The sword in-sheath
failure mode of heat
-treated vapor
grown carbon fibers.
Such failure modes
are also observed
in multiwall carbon
nanotubes.
The breaking
strength of various
types of carbon
fibers plotted as
a function of
Young’s modulus.
Lines of constant
strain can be used
to estimate the
breaking strains.
story of Carbon Fibers in Relation to Carbon
notubes

first carbon fiber - Thomas A. Edison - electric light bulb.

anese Kyoto bamboo filaments - coiled carbon resistor.

ce and aircraft industry – strong, lightweight fibers - superio

chanical properties - Rayon, Polyacrylonitrile (PAN).

stalline filamentous carbons - Carbon fibers by a Catalytic

emical Vapor Deposition (CVD).

y small diameter filaments less than 10 nm also observed (in

High-resolution TEM
micrograph showing carbon
a vapor grown carbon
nanofiber (VGCF) with a
diameter less than 10 nm
and a nanotube.
 
quid Carbon

quid carbon - liquid phase of carbon - melting of pure carbon

solid phase.

quid carbon is stable at atmospheric pressure only at very hi

mperatures.

ucible – made of carbon- to avoid contamination – sufficient

pplied - because of highest melting point.

idely manufactured - laser melting of graphite.

amond, graphite gives same liquid carbon. Melting of carbon

anotubes also forms liquid carbon.
e vapor pressure over liquid carbon is high.

rmed in carbon clusters rather than independent atoms –

gh vapor pressure and the large carbon–carbon-bonding ener
ving masses equal to fullerenes.
The electrical resistivity
vs. temperature for
vapor grown carbon
fibers with various heat
treatment temperatures
(THT = 1700, 2100,
2300, 2800°C). The
sharp decrease in ρ
(T) above ~ 4000K
is identified with the
melting of the carbon
fibers. The measured
electrical resistivity
for liquid carbon is
shown.