Carbon Nanotubes.

Carbon. Nanotubes.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are cylindrical molecules that consist of rolled-up sheets of single-layer carbon atoms (graphene). They can be single-walled (SWCNT) with a diameter of less than 1 nanometer (nm) or multi-walled (MWCNT), consisting of several concentrically interlinked nanotubes, with diameters reaching more than 100 nm. Their length can reach several micrometers or even millimeters.

Like their building block graphene, CNTs are chemically bonded with sp2 bonds, an extremely strong form of molecular interaction. This feature combined with carbon nanotubes’ natural inclination to rope together via van der Waals forces, provide the opportunity to develop ultra-high strength, low-weight materials that possess highly conductive electrical and thermal properties. This makes them highly attractive for numerous applications.

• their mechanical tensile strength can be 400 times that of steel;

• they are very light-weight – their density is one sixth of that of steel;

• their thermal conductivity is better than that of diamond;

• they have a very high aspect ratio greater than 1000, i.e. in relation to their length they are extremely thin;

• a tip-surface area near the theoretical limit (the smaller the tip-surface area, the more concentrated the electric field, and the greater the field enhancement factor);

• just like graphite, they are highly chemically stable and resist virtually any chemical impact unless they are simultaneously exposed to high temperatures and oxygen - a property that makes them extremely resistant to corrosion.

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