CARBON NANOTUBES

● Carbon nanotube is a tube-shaped

material, made of carbon, having a
diameter measuring on the nanometer
scale.

● They are the class of fullerene

intermediate between bucky balls (closed
shells) and graphene (flat sheets).

● Individual nanotubes naturally align

themselves in ropes held together by
vander walls forces.
 Types of carbon nanotubes

1. Single Walled Nanotubes

2. Multi Walled Nanotubes

 SYNTHESIS OF CARBON
NANOTUBES

● Arc Discharge Method

● Laser Ablation Method
● Chemical Vapour
Deposition(CVD)
Chemical Vapour Deposition
Method:

Carbon Nanotubes found naturally in

the combustion product of graphitic electrode
and also readily synthesized by CVD from
hydrocarbon, using iron or cobalt catalyst.
Carbon nanotube is synthesized by pyrolytic
decomposition of propylene at 1073K, using
an anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) film as a
structure directing template.
PROPERTIES:
Carbon nanotubes are associated with

● High electric conductivity

● High thermal conductivity
● High mechanical strength, which results from
the covalent sp2 bonds formed between the
individual carbon atoms.
● High thermal resistivity / stability.
● Enhanced chemical reactivity, compared with
a graphene sheet, as a direct result of the
curvature of the CNT surface which causes pi-
orbital mismatch.
APPLICATIONS:

● Field Emitters / Emission

● Molecular electronics: CNT based non-
volatile RAM, CNT based transistors.
● CNT based fibres and fabrics
● Energy storage
● CNT based ceramics
● Biomedical applications