Buckypaper: a New Era Technology?

In the past decade, we have made many breakthroughs in carbon nontechnology. For nearly 30 years, we had this idea of the properties of an atom-thick layer of graphite, and what kinds of uses they could be put to, but up until 9 years ago in 2004, we were never quite able to actually create this phenomenon. Once it was created, it was astonishing to see the different properties of this single layer of graphite, called graphene, whether or not we had already predicted them. Now before this breakthrough had started, scientists were already thinking about what would happen if you were to roll these tiny sheets up into tubes, and what kind of properties they would exhibit. This was interesting to think about, because the act of rolling up these tubes, which we now know as carbon nanotubes, is this idea of taking an essentially 2-dimmensional figure and putting it into a 3-dimmensional model. When graphene was finally created, we finally had a way to put these nanotubes to the test and get actual results instead of speculation. What we found was astonishing, as they were great conductors of heat and electricity, and, being an allotrope, did not dissolve in water. One of the most interesting things is that depending on the way you roll these sheets of graphene, the nanotubes can have different properties, such as being a metal or a semiconductor. The story gets even more interesting, as we have learned that these nanotubes can be applied to different kinds of material, on most interestingly called Buckypaper. This paper-like material is created when thousands of these microscopic nanotubes are bonded together. The result is a paper-like material that has incredible conductive properties. Due to the allotropic structure of the nanotubes, it is able to conduct heat very well. In terms of electrical conduction, depending on how the nanotube was rolled, it has the ability to take on the form of either a metal or a semiconductor. These two properties give it a very distinct usability in the industrial world. For example, these properties would work very well for aircraft in a thunderstorm. If in the unfortunate event that the plane would be struck by lightning, if it were crafted using buckypaper, the heat and electricity would be dissipated. One of the most interesting potential industrial uses is in cars. Buckypaper is much lighter than traditional steel. This allows for much better fuel economy, but more interestingly, it allows for much less use of platinum than in traditional fuel cells. The best part is that the surface of buckypaper can hold electricity, so there is less need for fuel cells, because the care itself can act like one. The only problem that has been run into is that buckypaper isnt practical. It is so hard to create that even if it is done, its incredibly expensive and can only be created at a fraction of its potential strength. Scientist at Rice did a study, and claimed that The estimated degree of functionalization is as high as one out of every 20 carbons in the nanotubes bearing a functionalized moiety. That has to do with only the nanotubes alone, and not the buckypaper itself. Overall, the dawn of micro technology is upon is in more ways than we know it. The introduction of Buckypaper could be revolutionary in the industrial industry, but it is yet to be able to be manufactured in large quantities. There is a considerable amount of data showing the potential use and effects of this new material, but there is a still a lot of work to be done to actually create such a product.