REPORT ON PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS OF

CARBON NANOTUBES

NAME : ARJUNVEER SINGH SOHAL

ROLL NO. : 10602011

B.E. FINAL YEAR ( CIVIL)

CARBON NANOTUBES – AN INTRODUCTION

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs, also known as buckytubes) are allotropes of carbon

with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-
to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1, which is significantly larger than any
other material. These cylindrical carbon molecules have novel properties that
make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology,
electronics, optics and other fields of materials science, as well as potential uses
in architectural fields. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical
properties, and are efficient thermal conductors.

Nanotubes are members of the fullerene structural family, which also includes
the spherical buckyballs. The ends of a nanotube might be capped with a
hemisphere of the buckyball structure. Their name is derived from their size,
since the diameter of a nanotube is on the order of a few nanometers
(approximately 1/50,000th of the width of a human hair), while they can be up
to 18 centimeters in length . Nanotubes are categorized as single-walled
nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs).

The nature of the bonding of a nanotube is described by applied quantum

chemistry, specifically, orbital hybridization. The chemical bonding of
nanotubes is composed entirely of sp2 bonds, similar to those of graphite. This
bonding structure, which is stronger than the sp3 bonds found in diamonds,
provides the molecules with their unique strength. Nanotubes naturally align
themselves into "ropes" held together by Van der Waals forces.

TYPES OF CARBON NANOTUBES

SINGLE WALLED

Most single-walled nanotubes (SWNT) have a diameter of close to 1 nanometer,

with a tube length that can be many millions of times longer. The structure of a
SWNT can be conceptualized by wrapping a one-atom-thick layer of graphite
called graphene into a seamless cylinder.

Single-walled nanotubes are an important variety of carbon nanotube because

they exhibit electric properties that are not shared by the multi-walled carbon
nanotube (MWNT) variants. In particular, their band gap can vary from zero to
about 2 eV and their electrical conductivity can show metallic or
semiconducting behavior, whereas MWNTs are zero-gap metals. Single-walled
nanotubes are the most likely candidate for miniaturizing electronics beyond the
micro electromechanical scale currently used in electronics. The most basic
building block of these systems is the electric wire, and SWNTs can be
excellent conductors. One useful application of SWNTs is in the development
of the first intramolecular field effect transistors (FET). Production of the first
intramolecular logic gate using SWNT FETs has recently become possible as
well.

MULTI WALLED
Multi-walled nanotubes (MWNT) consist of multiple rolled layers (concentric
tubes) of graphite. There are two models which can be used to describe the
structures of multi-walled nanotubes. In the Russian Doll model, sheets of
graphite are arranged in concentric cylinders, In the Parchment model, a single
sheet of graphite is rolled in around itself, resembling a scroll of parchment or a
rolled newspaper. The interlayer distance in multi-walled nanotubes is close to
the distance between graphene layers in graphite, approximately 3.4 Å.

The special place of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNT) must be

emphasized here because their morphology and properties are similar to SWNT
but their resistance to chemicals is significantly improved. This is especially
important when functionalization is required (this means grafting of chemical
functions at the surface of the nanotubes) to add new properties to the CNT. In
the case of SWNT, covalent functionalization will break some C=C double
bonds, leaving "holes" in the structure on the nanotube and thus modifying both
its mechanical and electrical properties. In the case of DWNT, only the outer
wall is modified.
PROPERTIES OF CARBON NANOTUBES

STREGTH

Carbon nanotubes are the strongest and stiffest materials yet discovered in terms
of tensile strength and elastic modulus respectively. This strength results from
the covalent sp² bonds formed between the individual carbon atoms. In 2000, a
multi-walled carbon nanotube was tested to have a tensile strength of
63 gigapascals (GPa). (This, for illustration, translates into the ability to endure
tension of a weight equivalent to 6300 kg on a cable with cross-section of 1
mm2.) Since carbon nanotubes have a low density for a solid of 1.3 to 1.4 g·cm−3
its specific strength of up to 48,000 kN·m·kg−1 is the best of known materials,
compared to high-carbon steel's 154 kN·m·kg−1.

Under excessive tensile strain, the tubes will undergo plastic deformation,
which means the deformation is permanent. This deformation begins at strains
of approximately 5% and can increase the maximum strain the tubes undergo
before fracture by releasing strain energy.

CNTs are not nearly as strong under compression. Because of their hollow
structure and high aspect ratio, they tend to undergo buckling when placed
under compressive, torsional or bending stress.

The above discussion referred to axial properties of the nanotube, whereas

simple geometrical considerations suggest that carbon nanotubes should be
much softer in the radial direction than along the tube axis. Indeed, TEM
observation of radial elasticity suggested that even the van der Waals forces can
deform two adjacent nanotubes. Nanoindentation experiments, performed by
several groups on multiwalled carbon nanotubes, indicated Young's modulus of
the order of several GPa confirming that CNTs are indeed rather soft in the
radial direction.

HARDNESS

Diamond is considered to be the hardest material, and it is well known that

graphite transforms into diamond under conditions of high temperature and high
pressure. One study succeeded in the synthesis of a super-hard material by
compressing SWNTs to above 24 GPa at room temperature. The hardness of
this material was measured with a nanoindenter as 62–152 GPa. The hardness
of reference diamond and boron nitride samples was 150 and 62 GPa,
respectively. The bulk modulus of compressed SWNTs was 462–546 GPa,
surpassing the value of 420 GPa for diamond.

KINETIC

Multi-walled nanotubes, multiple concentric nanotubes precisely nested within

one another, exhibit a striking telescoping property whereby an inner nanotube
core may slide, almost without friction, within its outer nanotube shell thus
creating an atomically perfect linear or rotational bearing. This is one of the first
true examples of molecular nanotechnology, the precise positioning of atoms to
create useful machines. Already this property has been utilized to create the
world's smallest rotational motor. Future applications such as a gigahertz
mechanical oscillator are also envisaged.

ELECTRICAL

Because of the symmetry and unique electronic structure of graphene, the

structure of a nanotube strongly affects its electrical properties.

In theory, metallic nanotubes can carry an electrical current density of 4 × 109

A/cm2 which is more than 1,000 times greater than metals such as copper.

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes with interconnected inner shells show

superconductivity with a relatively high transition temperature Tc = 12 K. In
contrast, the Tc value is an order of magnitude lower for ropes of single-walled
carbon nanotubes or for MWNTs with usual, non-interconnected shells.

THERMAL

All nanotubes are expected to be very good thermal conductors along the tube,
exhibiting a property known as "ballistic conduction," but good insulators
laterally to the tube axis. Measurements show that a SWNT has a room-
temperature thermal conductivity along its axis of about 3500 W·m−1·K−1;
compare this to copper, a metal well-known for its good thermal conductivity,
which transmits 385 W·m−1·K−1. A SWNT has a room-temperature thermal
conductivity across its axis of about 1.52 W·m−1·K−1, which is about as
thermally conductive as soil. The temperature stability of carbon nanotubes is
estimated to be up to 2800 °C in vacuum and about 750 °C in air.
DEFECTS

As with any material, the existence of a crystallographic defect affects the

material properties. Defects can occur in the form of atomic vacancies. High
levels of such defects can lower the tensile strength by up to 85%. Another form
of carbon nanotube defect is the Stone Wales defect, which creates a pentagon
and heptagon pair by rearrangement of the bonds. Because of the very small
structure of CNTs, the tensile strength of the tube is dependent on its weakest
segment in a similar manner to a chain, where the strength of the weakest link
becomes the maximum strength of the chain.

Crystallographic defects also affect the tube's electrical properties. A common

result is lowered conductivity through the defective region of the tube.
Crystallographic defects strongly affect the tube's thermal properties.

ONE – DIMENSIONAL TRANSPORT

Because of the nanoscale dimensions, electrons propagate only along the tube's
axis and electron transport involves many quantum effects. Because of this,
carbon nanotubes are frequently referred to as “one-dimensional”.

TOXICITY

Determining the toxicity of carbon nanotubes has been one of the most pressing
questions in nanotechnology. Unfortunately such research has only just begun
and the data are still fragmentary and subject to criticism. Preliminary results
highlight the difficulties in evaluating the toxicity of this heterogeneous
material. Parameters such as structure, size distribution, surface area, surface
chemistry, surface charge, and agglomeration state as well as purity of the
samples, have considerable impact on the reactivity of carbon nanotubes.
However, available data clearly show that, under some conditions, nanotubes
can cross membrane barriers, which suggests that if raw materials reach the
organs they can induce harmful effects such as inflammatory and fibrotic
reactions.

A study shows that CNTs can enter human cells and accumulate in the
cytoplasm, causing cell death.

Results of rodent studies collectively show that regardless of the process by

which CNTs were synthesized and the types and amounts of metals they
contained, CNTs were capable of producing inflammation, fibrosis, and
biochemical/toxicological changes in the lungs. Comparative toxicity studies in
which mice were given equal weights of test materials showed that SWCNTs
were more toxic than quartz, which is considered a serious occupational health
hazard when chronically inhaled.

The needle-like fiber shape of CNTs, similar to asbestos fibers, raises fears that
widespread use of carbon nanotubes may lead to cancer of the lining of the
lungs often caused by exposure to asbestos. A recently-published pilot study
supports this prediction. Scientists exposed the mesothelial lining of the body
cavity of mice, as a surrogate for the mesothelial lining of the chest cavity, to
long multiwalled carbon nanotubes and observed asbestos-like, length-
dependent, pathogenic behavior which included inflammation and formation of
lesions known as granulomas. Authors of the study conclude:

"This is of considerable importance, because research and business

communities continue to invest heavily in carbon nanotubes for a wide
range of products under the assumption that they are no more hazardous
than graphite. Our results suggest the need for further research and great
caution before introducing such products into the market if long-term
harm is to be avoided."

Although further research is required, results presented clearly demonstrate that,

under certain conditions, especially those involving chronic exposure, carbon
nanotubes can pose a serious risk to human health.

POTENTIAL AND CURRENT APPLICATIONS

The strength and flexibility of carbon nanotubes makes them of potential use in
controlling other nanoscale structures, which suggests they will have an
important role in nanotechnology engineering. The highest tensile strength of an
individual multi-walled carbon nanotube has been tested to be is 63 GPa.
Carbon nanotubes were found in Damascus steel from the 17th century,
possibly helping to account for the legendary strength of the swords made of it.

STRUCTURAL

Because of the carbon nanotube's superior mechanical properties, many

structures have been proposed ranging from everyday items like clothes and
sports gear to combat jackets and space elevators. However, the space elevator
will require further efforts in refining carbon nanotube technology, as the
practical tensile strength of carbon nanotubes can still be greatly improved.
For perspective, outstanding breakthroughs have already been made. Pioneering
work has shown that single and multi-walled nanotubes can produce materials
with toughness unmatched in the man-made and natural worlds.

IN ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

Nanotube based transistors have been made that operate at room temperature
and that are capable of digital switching using a single electron. However, one
major obstacle to realization of nanotubes has been the lack of technology for
mass production. In 2001 IBM researchers demonstrated how metallic
nanotubes can be destroyed, leaving semiconducting ones behind for use as
transistors. Their process is called "constructive destruction" which includes the
automatic destruction of defective nanotubes on the wafer. This process,
however, only gives control over the electrical properties on a statistical scale.

The first nanotube integrated memory circuit was made in 2004. One of the
main challenges has been regulating the conductivity of nanotubes. Depending
on subtle surface features a nanotube may act as a plain conductor or as a
semiconductor. A fully automated method has however been developed to
remove non-semiconductor tubes.

Another way to make carbon nanotube transistors has been to use random
networks of them. By doing so one averages all of their electrical differences
and one can produce devices in large scale at the wafer level.

Large structures of carbon nanotubes can be used for thermal management of

electronic circuits. An approximately 1 mm–thick carbon nanotube layer was
used as a special material to fabricate coolers, this material has very low
density, ~20 times lower weight than a similar copper structure, while the
cooling properties are similar for the two materials.

AS PAPER BATTERIES

A paper battery is a battery engineered to use a paper-thin sheet of cellulose

(which is the major constituent of regular paper, among other things) infused
with aligned carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes act as electrodes; allowing the
storage devices to conduct electricity. The battery, which functions as both a
lithium-ion battery and a supercapacitor, can provide a long, steady power
output comparable to a conventional battery, as well as a supercapacitor’s quick
burst of high energy—and while a conventional battery contains a number of
separate components, the paper battery integrates all of the battery components
in a single structure, making it more energy efficient.

CURRENT APPLICATIONS

Current use and application of nanotubes has mostly been limited to the use of
bulk nanotubes, which is a mass of rather unorganized fragments of nanotubes.
Bulk nanotube materials may never achieve a tensile strength similar to that of
individual tubes, but such composites may nevertheless yield strengths
sufficient for many applications. Bulk carbon nanotubes have already been used
as composite fibers in polymers to improve the mechanical, thermal and
electrical properties of the bulk product.

Solar cells

Solar cells use a carbon nanotube complex, formed by a mixture of carbon

nanotubes and carbon buckyballs (known as fullerenes) to form snake-like
structures. Buckyballs trap electrons, although they can't make electrons flow.
Add sunlight to excite the polymers, and the buckyballs will grab the electrons.
Nanotubes, behaving like copper wires, will then be able to make the electrons
or current flow.

Ultracapacitors

MIT Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems uses nanotubes to

improve ultracapacitors. The activated charcoal used in conventional
ultracapacitors has many small hollow spaces of various size, which create
together a large surface to store electric charge. But as charge is quantized into
elementary charges, i.e. electrons, and each such elementary charge needs a
minimum space, a significant fraction of the electrode surface is not available
for storage because the hollow spaces are not compatible with the charge's
requirements. With a nanotube electrode the spaces may be tailored to size—
few too large or too small—and consequently the capacity should be increased
considerably.

OTHER APPLICATIONS

Carbon nanotubes have been implemented in nanoelectromechanical systems,

including mechanical memory elements and nanoscale electric motors .

In May 2005, Nanomix Inc placed on the market a hydrogen sensor which
integrated carbon nanotubes on a silicon platform. Since then Nanomix has been
patenting many such sensor applications such as in the field of carbon dioxide,
nitrous oxide, glucose, DNA detection, etc.

Eikos Inc of Franklin, Massachusetts and Unidym Inc. of Silicon Valley,

California are developing transparent, electrically conductive films of carbon
nanotubes to replace indium tin oxide (ITO). Carbon nanotube films are
substantially more mechanically robust than ITO films, making them ideal for
high-reliability touchscreens and flexible displays. Printable water-based inks of
carbon nanotubes are desired to enable the production of these films to replace
ITO.] Nanotube films show promise for use in displays for computers, cell
phones, PDAs, and ATMs.

A nanoradio, a radio receiver consisting of a single nanotube, was demonstrated

in 2007. In 2008 it was shown that a sheet of nanotubes can operate as a
loudspeaker if an alternating current is applied. The sound is not produced
through vibration but thermoacoustically.

Because of the high mechanical strength of carbon nanotubes, research is being

made into weaving them into clothes to create stab-proof and bulletproof
clothing. The nanotubes would effectively stop the bullet from penetrating the
body, although the bullet's kinetic energy would likely cause broken bones and
internal bleeding.

A flywheel made of carbon nanotubes could be spun at extremely high velocity

on a floating magnetic axis in a vacuum, and potentially store energy at a
density approaching that of conventional fossil fuels. Since energy can be added
to and removed from flywheels very efficiently in the form of electricity, this
might offer a way of storing electricity, making the electrical grid more efficient
and variable power suppliers (like wind turbines) more useful in meeting energy
needs. The practicality of this depends heavily upon the cost of making massive,
unbroken nanotube structures, and their failure rate under stress.

Rheological properties can also be shown very effectively by carbon nanotubes.

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes may replace platinum catalysts used to

reduce oxygen in fuel cells. A forest of vertically-aligned nanotubes can reduce
oxygen in alkaline solution more effectively than platinum, which has been used
in such applications since the 1960s. The nanotubes have the added benefit of
not being subject to carbon monoxide poisoning.

DISCOVERY
A 2006 editorial written by Marc Monthioux and Vladimir Kuznetsov in the
journal Carbon described the interesting and often misstated origin of the
carbon nanotube. A large percentage of academic and popular literature
attributes the discovery of hollow, nanometer-size tubes composed of graphitic
carbon to Sumio Iijima of NEC in 1991.

In 1952 L. V. Radushkevich and V. M. Lukyanovich published clear images of

50 nanometer diameter tubes made of carbon in the Soviet Journal of Physical
Chemistry. This discovery was largely unnoticed, as the article was published in
the Russian language, and Western scientists' access to Soviet press was limited
during the Cold War. It is likely that carbon nanotubes were produced before
this date, but the invention of the transmission electron microscope (TEM)
allowed direct visualization of these structures.

Carbon nanotubes have been produced and observed under a variety of

conditions prior to 1991. A paper by Oberlin, Endo, and Koyama published in
1976 clearly showed hollow carbon fibers with nanometer-scale diameters using
a vapor-growth technique. Additionally, the authors show a TEM image of a
nanotube consisting of a single wall of graphene. Later, Endo has referred to
this image as a single-walled nanotube.

In 1979 John Abrahamson presented evidence of carbon nanotubes at the 14th

Biennial Conference of Carbon at Pennsylvania State University. The
conference paper described carbon nanotubes as carbon fibers which were
produced on carbon anodes during arc discharge. A characterization of these
fibers was given as well as hypotheses for their growth in a nitrogen atmosphere
at low pressures.

In 1981 a group of Soviet scientists published the results of chemical and

structural characterization of carbon nanoparticles produced by a
thermocatalytical disproportionation of carbon monoxide. Using TEM images
and XRD patterns, the authors suggested that their “carbon multi-layer tubular
crystals” were formed by rolling graphene layers into cylinders. They
speculated that by rolling graphene layers into a cylinder, many different
arrangements of graphene hexagonal nets are possible. They suggested two
possibilities of such arrangements: circular arrangement (armchair nanotube)
and a spiral, helical arrangement (chiral tube).

In 1987, Howard G. Tennett of Hyperion Catalysis was issued a U.S. patent for
the production of "cylindrical discrete carbon fibrils" with a "constant diameter
between about 3.5 and about 70 nanometers..., length 102 times the diameter,
and an outer region of multiple essentially continuous layers of ordered carbon
atoms and a distinct inner core...."
Iijima's discovery of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the insoluble material of
arc-burned graphite rods in 1991 and Mintmire, Dunlap, and White's
independent prediction that if single-walled carbon nanotubes could be made,
then they would exhibit remarkable conducting properties helped create the
initial buzz that is now associated with carbon nanotubes. Nanotube research
accelerated greatly following the independent discoveries by Bethune at IBM
and Iijima at NEC of single-walled carbon nanotubes and methods to
specifically produce them by adding transition-metal catalysts to the carbon in
an arc discharge. The arc discharge technique was well-known to produce the
famed Buckminster fullerene on a preparative scale, and these results appeared
to extend the run of accidental discoveries relating to fullerenes. The original
observation of fullerenes in mass spectrometry was not anticipated, and the first
mass-production technique by Krätschmer and Huffman was used for several
years before realizing that it produced fullerenes.

The discovery of nanotubes remains a contentious issue. Many believe that

Iijima's report in 1991 is of particular importance because it brought carbon
nanotubes into the awareness of the scientific community as a whole.

The potential applications of carbon nanotubes are varied. Carbon nanotubes,

a type of fullerene, have potential in fields such as nanotechnology, electronics,
optics, materials science, and architecture. Over the years new discoveries have
led to new applications, often taking advantage of their unique electrical
properties, extraordinary strength, and efficiency in heat conduction.

Structural

clothes: waterproof tear-resistant textiles

combat jackets: MIT is working on combat jackets that use carbon

nanotubes as ultrastrong fibers and to monitor the condition of the wearer.
Cambridge University has developed the fibres and given a license to a
company.

concrete: In concrete, they increase the tensile strength, and halt crack
propagation.

polyethylene: Researchers have found that adding them to polyethylene

increases the polymer's elastic modulus by 30%.

sports equipment: Stronger and lighter tennis rackets, bike parts, golf
balls, golf clubs, golf shaft and baseball bats.
 space elevator: This will be possible only if tensile strengths of more
than about 70 GPa can be achieved.

synthetic muscles: Due to their giant elongations and contractions when

a current is run through them, CNTs are ideal for synthetic muscle.

high tensile strength fibers: A large number of research groups have

spun fibers of single wall carbon nanotubes embedded into a polymer.
For example, fibers produced with polyvinyl alcohol required 600 J/g to
break In comparison, the bullet-resistant fiber Kevlar is 27–33 J/g.

bridges: Carbon nanotubes may be able to replace steel in suspension

bridges.

ultrahigh-speed flywheels: The high strength/weight ratio enables very

high speeds to be achieved.

fire protection: covering material with a thin layer of buckypaper

significantly improves its fire resistance due to the efficient reflection of
heat by the dense, compact layer of carbon nanotubes or carbon fibers.

Electromagnetic

artificial muscles

buckypaper - a thin sheet made from nanotubes that are 250 times
stronger than steel and 10 times lighter that could be used as a heat sink
for chipboards, a backlight for LCD screens or as a faraday cage to
protect electrical devices/aeroplanes.

chemical nanowires: Carbon nanotubes additionally can also be used to

produce nanowires of other chemicals, such as gold or zinc oxide. These
nanowires in turn can be used to cast nanotubes of other chemicals, such
as gallium nitride. These can have very different properties from CNTs -
for example, gallium nitride nanotubes are hydrophilic, while CNTs are
hydrophobic, giving them possible uses in organic chemistry that CNTs
could not be used for.

conductive films: A 2005 paper in Science notes that drawing transparent

high strength swathes of SWNT is a functional production technique.
Additionally, Eikos Inc of Franklin, Massachusetts and Unidym Inc. of
Silicon Valley, California are developing transparent, electrically
conductive films of carbon nanotubes to replace indium tin oxide (ITO)
in LCDs, touch screens, and photovoltaic devices. Nanotube films show
promise for use in displays for computers, cell phones, PDAs, and ATMs.

electric motor brushes: Conductive carbon nanotubes have been used

for several years in brushes for commercial electric motors. They replace
traditional carbon black, which is mostly impure spherical carbon
fullerenes. The nanotubes improve electrical and thermal conductivity
because they stretch through the plastic matrix of the brush. This permits
the carbon filler to be reduced from 30% down to 3.6%, so that more
matrix is present in the brush. Nanotube composite motor brushes are
better-lubricated (from the matrix), cooler-running (both from better
lubrication and superior thermal conductivity), less brittle (more matrix,
and fiber reinforcement), stronger and more accurately moldable (more
matrix). Since brushes are a critical failure point in electric motors, and
also don't need much material, they became economical before almost
any other application.

light bulb filament: alternative to tungsten filaments in incandescent

lamps.

magnets: MWNTs coated with magnetite

optical ignition: A layer of 29% iron enriched SWNT is placed on top of

a layer of explosive material such as PETN, and can be ignited with a
regular camera flash.

solar cells: GE's carbon nanotube diode has a photovoltaic effect.

Nanotubes can replace ITO in some solar cells to act as a transparent
conductive film in solar cells to allow light to pass to the active layers
and generate photocurrent.

superconductor: Nanotubes have been shown to be superconducting at

low temperatures.

ultracapacitors: MIT is researching the use of nanotubes bound to the

charge plates of capacitors in order to dramatically increase the surface
area and therefore energy storage ability.

displays: One use for nanotubes that has already been developed is as
extremely fine electron guns, which could be used as miniature cathode
ray tubes in thin high-brightness low-energy low-weight displays. This
type of display would consist of a group of many tiny CRTs, each
providing the electrons to hit the phosphor of one pixel, instead of having
 one giant CRT whose electrons are aimed using electric and magnetic
fields. These displays are known as field emission displays (FEDs).

transistor: developed at Delft, IBM, and NEC.

electromagnetic antenna

Electroacoustic

loudspeaker: In November 2008, researchers at the Tsinghua-Foxconn

Nanotechnology Research Centre in Beijing announced they had created
loudspeakers from sheets of parallel carbon nanotubes, generating sound
in a manner similar to how lightning produces thunder. Near-term
commercial uses include replacing piezoelectric speakers in greeting
cards.

Chemical

air pollution filter: Future applications of nanotube membranes include

filtering carbon dioxide from power plant emissions.

biotech container: Nanotubes can be opened and filled with materials

such as biological molecules, raising the possibility of applications in
biotechnology.

hydrogen storage: Research is currently being undertaken into the

potential use of carbon nanotubes for hydrogen storage. They have the
potential to store between 4.2 and 65% hydrogen by weight. This is an
important area of research, since if they can be mass produced
economically there is potential to contain the same quantity of energy as a
50L gasoline tank in 13.2L of nanotubes.

water filter: Recently nanotube membranes have been developed for use
in filtration. This technique can purportedly reduce desalination costs by
75%. The tubes are so thin that small particles (like water molecules) can
pass through them, while larger particles (such as the chloride ions in
salt) are blocked.

Mechanical

Oscillator: fastest known oscillators (> 50 GHz).

 Nanotube membrane: Liquid flows up to five orders of magnitude faster
than predicted by classical fluid dynamics.

Slick surface: slicker than Teflon and waterproof.

Carbon nanotube actuators

infrared detector: The reflectivity of the buckypaper produced with

"super-growth" chemical vapor deposition method is 0.03 or less. It is
possible to apply it to the performance gain of pyroerectric infrared
detector.

radiometric standard: As a standard of the black.

thermal radiation: For the thermal emission in the space such as space
satellites.

stealth: Absorbance is high in wide ranges from FUV to FIR.

Electrical circuits

A nanotube formed by joining nanotubes of two different diameters end to end

can act as a diode, suggesting the possibility of constructing electronic computer
circuits entirely out of nanotubes. Because of their good thermal properties,
carbon nanotubes can also be used to dissipate heat from tiny computer chips.
The longest electricity conducting circuit is a fraction of an inch long.

Fabrication difficulties are major hurdles for carbon nanotubes to find

prominent places in circuits. The production of electrical circuits with carbon
nanotubes are very different from the traditional IC fabrication process. The IC
fabrication process is somewhat like sculpture - films are deposited onto a wafer
and pattern-etched away. Because carbon nanotubes are fundamentally different
from films, carbon nanotube circuits can so far not be mass produced.

Researchers sometimes resort to manipulating nanotubes one-by-one with the

tip of an atomic force microscope in a painstaking, time-consuming process.
Perhaps the best hope is that carbon nanotubes can be grown through a chemical
vapor deposition process from patterned catalyst material on a wafer, which
serve as growth sites and allow designers to position one end of the nanotube.
During the deposition process, an electric field can be applied to direct the
growth of the nanotubes, which tend to grow along the field lines from negative
to positive polarity. Another way for the self assembly of the carbon nanotube
transistors consist in using chemical or biological techniques to place the
nanotubes from solution to determinate place on a substrate.
Even if nanotubes could be precisely positioned, there remains the problem that,
to this date, engineers have been unable to control the types of nanotubes—
metallic, semiconducting, single-walled, multi-walled—produced. A chemical
engineering solution is needed if nanotubes are to become feasible for
commercial circuits.

Interconnects

Metallic carbon nanotubes have aroused a lot of research interest in their

applicability as Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) interconnects of the future
because of their desirable properties of high thermal stability, high thermal
conductivity and large current carrying capacity. An isolated carbon nanotube
can carry current densities in excess of 1000 MA/sq-cm without any signs of
damage even at an elevated temperature of 250 degrees C, thereby eliminating
electromigration reliability concerns that plague Cu interconnects. Recent
modeling work comparing the performance, power dissipation and
thermal/reliability aspects of carbon nanotube interconnect to scaled copper
interconnects have shown that carbon nanotube bundle interconnects can
potentially offer advantages over copper. Additionally, the concept of hybrid
interconnects-employing carbon nanotube vias in tandem with copper
interconnects has been shown to offer advantages from a reliability/thermal-
management perspective.

Transistors

Semiconducting CNTs have been used to fabricate field effect transistors

(CNTFETs), which show promise due to their superior electrical characteristics
over silicon based MOSFETs. Since the electron mean free path in SWCNTs
can exceed 1 micrometer, long channel CNTFETs exhibit near-ballistic
transport characteristics, resulting in high speed devices. In fact, CNT devices
are projected to be operational in the frequency range of hundreds of GHz.
Recent work detailing the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of
CNTFETs have also shown that the tunneling based CNTFET offers better
characteristics compared to other CNTFET structures. This device has been
found to be superior in terms of subthreshold slope - a very important property
for low power applications.

Nanotubes are usually grown on nanoparticles of magnetic metal (Fe, Co) that
facilitates production of electronic (spintronic) devices. In particular control of
current through a field-effect transistor by magnetic field has been demonstrated
in such a single-tube nanostructure.

Electronic design and design automation

Although carbon nanotube devices and interconnects have been separately
shown to be promising in their own respects, there have been few efforts to
successfully combine them in a realistic circuit. Most CNTFET structures
employ the silicon substrate as a back gate. Applying different back gate
voltages might become a concern when designing large circuits out of these
devices. Several top-gated structures have also been demonstrated, which can
alleviate this concern. Recently, a fully integrated logic circuit built on a single
nanotube has been reported. However, this circuit also employs a back-gate.
Additionally, there are still several process related challenges that need to be
addressed before CNT-based devices and interconnects can enter mainstream
VLSI process. This makes it an exciting and open field for research. Problems
like purification, separation of carbon nanotubes, control over nanotube length,
chirality and desired alignment, low thermal budget as well as high contact
resistance are yet to be fully resolved. Although these are serious technological
challenges, innovative ideas have been proposed to build practical transistors
out of nano-networks. Since lack of control on chirality produces a mix of
metallic as well as semi-conducting CNTs from any fabrication process and it is
difficult to control the growth direction of the CNTs, random arrays of
SWCNTs (that are easily produced) have been proposed to build thin film
transistors. This idea can be further exploited to build practical CNT based
transistors and circuits without the need for precise growth and assembly.