Carbon Nanotubes

Properties, Possibilities, and Applications

By Jonathan Luker

Carbon Nanotubes: A Brief Overview

Of all the elements listed on the periodic table, carbon may not seem terribly
interesting. After all, its in the company of beautiful gold, mighty uranium,
dependable iron, and cyber-giant silicon, to name a few. Some may be aware that
carbon is the sole atom that forms diamond, but the name is more often associated
with grim topics like carbon footprint and carbon monoxide poisoning. However,
when looking at carbon on the nanoscale, weve recently come across some big
surprises. Carbon nanotubes, in particular, are a substantial topic in todays
nanoscience.
Carbon nanotubes are hollow, cylindrical structures formed by lattices of
carbon atoms. They can be just a few nanometers thick and hundreds of
nanometers long. Single-walled nanotubes stand alone, while multi-walled
nanotubes resemble several single-walled nanotubes nested together like Russian
dolls. Although carbon nanotubes had been previously observed in some forms,
Japanese physicist Sumio Iijimas 1991 description of needlelike tubes of carbon
drew wide scientific attention to them. Subsequent investigations confirmed that
the character and properties of carbon nanotubes differ drastically from the wellknown bulk carbon allotropes, graphite and diamond.
From tensile strength to thermal and electrical conductivity, it almost seems
like theres nothing a carbon nanotube cant do. Although these properties excite
scientists across fields of chemistry, biology, and physics, an important question
remains: What can we do with them? The drive to find real applications for carbon
nanotubes has yielded plenty of tantalizing possibilities and new discoveries.

Strength, Elasticity, and Artificial Muscle

The strength of the carbon nanotube structure is one of its most fascinating
properties. In addition to being stronger and lighter than steel, they display
remarkable elasticity; a rare and alluring combination of properties for a single
material. Carbon nanotubes owe their strength to the tight covalent bonds that
carbon atoms form with each other, among the strongest in nature. Each carbon
atom in the tube shares electrons with three neighbors, forming a bonded network
of hexagons that defies disruptive forces. The structure is able to dissipate force
from any direction, and easily returns to its original shape when the stress is
removed.
Ray Baughman and his colleagues at the University of Dallass Nano-Tech
Institute were able to take advantage of nanotubes elasticity in a novel way. Many
materials, when stretched one way, will contract in another way, Baughman says.
The relationship between the amount of stretching and contraction in a material is
known as Poissons ratio. A good example is a rubber band; stretch it in one
direction, and it will tighten significantly in another, representing a relatively high
Poissons ratio of 0.5. Materials with a Poissons ratio closer to zero, like cork, wont
change shape nearly as much. By spinning together carbon nanotubes, Baughmans
team managed to create elastic sheets with Poissons ratios of up to 15. The team
then found that they could form these sheets into artificial muscle. When they
applied a voltage to the artificial muscle, it was able to expand its length by over
200 percent, compared to natural muscles expansion capability of around 40
percent. Furthermore, these artificial muscles could still function in extremely high
or low temperatures, suggesting that they could be useful to robots exploring
extreme environments.

Temperature Resistance and Heat Conduction

Adding to their physical properties, carbon nanotubes display remarkable

thermal properties as well. They are known to conduct heat extremely well, similarly
to metals. A team at Japans National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology created a rubberlike material from a network of randomly connected
and entangled carbon nanotubes. This material retained its elasticity and ability to
dampen impact even at temperatures as low as -196 C and as high as 1000 C.
Since the carbon-carbon bonds of nanotubes are stable even above 1500 C, the
team speculates that the material could withstand even higher temperatures. They
suggest that the material could be useful in furnaces or the vacuum of space, where
other elastics fail.
Meanwhile, another team may have found an explanation for carbon
nanotubes thermal properties. Chemist Michael Strano of MIT discovered that a
carbon nanotube could be covered in fuel and ignited on one end without burning
up, despite being covered in flames. They proposed that the nanotube conducts
heat down its length faster than the flame spreads, creating a heat wave that
ignites the fuel ahead of the flame. These ignitions add more heat to the wave,
propelling it further. Strano speculated that the speed of this heat wave prevents
oxidation reactions from starting, leaving the carbon unburned. Furthermore, the
heat wave excites electrons in the nanotube as it travels, propelling them forward
and generating remarkable amounts of electricity. As Strano puts it, no one could
have predicted that it would be this much power. From a practical standpoint, the
power density is already higher than a lithium-ion battery, and were not even really
trying.

Electrical Conductivity and the Nanoradio

Because a carbon nanotubes atoms are so tightly bonded, electrons can flow
between them very easily. Since they arent scattered, electrons take a simple,
roughly ballistic path along the nanotubes length, yielding the terms ballistic
conduction or ballistic transport. With their combination of tiny size and smooth
conductivity, carbon nanotubes were a tempting material for physicist Alex Zettl to
try building a nanoscale radio receiver.
A standard, basic radio receiver consists of: an antenna to catch radio signals,
a tuner to select a specific signal, a demodulator to extract information from the
signal, and an amplifier to boost the signal for playback. Zettls nanoradio uses a
cantilevered carbon nanotube, mounted on an electrode, to perform all of these
functions at the same time, in conjunction with a battery, a counterelectrode, and a
macroscale audio speaker. In a standard radio, the tuner allows the user to select
the broadcast frequency to listen to changing the station. Choosing a frequency
for the nanotube radio involves varying the voltage that passes between electrodes
through the nanotube. The chosen voltage allows the nanotube to resonate with the
carrier signal.
In a standard radios antenna, radio waves induce an electric current which is
then passed along to the radios other components. However, a carbon nanotube is
a small enough structure to be mechanically pushed by a radio wave. The nanotube
in the nanoradio is anchored to an electrode like a flag on a mountaintop, so its free
end vibrates in tune with the carrier signal. Normally, the next step is demodulation.
Radio broadcasts are a combination of a carrier signal and an informational signal,
woven into the carrier signal through modulation. The modulation is applied to
either the amplitude (AM) or frequency (FM) of the carrier signal. Demodulators in
standard radios are circuits that filter out the carrier signal, passing on only the

sound - usually voice or music - being broadcast. The amplifier then boosts this
signal to a level usable by the radios speakers, and you hear your music.
But the nanoradio works a little differently. As the voltage is passed through
the carbon nanotube, a field of electrons exits the free end and streams to the
counterelectrode. Since the voltage is already attuned to the radio signal, only the
modulated information signal is expressed in the electron field. The electron field
also serves as a boost to the information signal, meaning that both demodulation
and amplification are obtained without additional circuitry for free. In January
2007, Zettls prototype nanoradio was able to receive and play the radio signal for
Layla performed by Eric Clapton (with Derek and the Dominos). His team is
optimistic that their discovery could lead to powerful applications. For example,
since the nanoradio is small enough to fit inside a living cell, Zettl believes that tiny
drug packages could be fitted with nanoradios, allowing them to deliver their
payload when a signal is sent from outside the patients body.

Moving Forward
For all the exciting possibilities offered by nanotechnology, and all the grand
visions and predictions from scientists and engineers, we still have a long way to go
before we see commonplace application. Nevertheless, research and development
surrounding carbon nanotubes continues to build upon itself. Advancements in the
bulk growth or synthesis of carbon nanotubes have made them more widely
available for scientists to experiment on. As Strano remarked, being able to
manipulate it in the lab and do strange things to it has taught us quite a bit. In
addition to the projects weve examined, many other scientific teams are finding

new ways to put carbon nanotubes to work. For instance, physicist Shawn-Yu Lin of
the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, created a carbon nanotube
forest able to absorb over 99% of light directed at it. The dark material is already
useful in accurately detecting the power of lasers, and could allow more accurate
measurements of temperatures on the Earth or the sun in the future. Other projects
are ongoing with the hope of incorporating carbon nanotubes into fabrics,
construction materials, electronic transistors, medicine, and beyond. So although
nanotechnology hasnt lived up to all its lofty promises just yet, important steps
have been taken, and plenty more are soon to follow.

References
Ehrenberg, R. (2010). TINY TUBES, BIG RIDDLES: Carbon cylinders' odd traits
continue to stump scientists. Science News, 178(12), 2023. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.libprox1.slcc.edu/stable/29548953
Gogotsi, Y. (2010). High-Temperature Rubber Made from Carbon Nanotubes. Science,
330(6009), 13321333. Retrieved from
http://www.jstor.org.libprox1.slcc.edu/stable/40963968
Regis, E. (2009). THE WORLD'S SMALLEST Radio. Scientific American, 300(3), 40.
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