Car bo n Na no-t ube s:  

An Ov er view  

BY ARUNDUBEY
ROLL NO. 0905EC071033
ELEX. & COMM. DPTT.
I. T. M., GWALIOR
Pre se nta tion O ve rvie w 
• Definition
• History
• Properties
• Current Application
• Manufacturing Techniques
• Future application
• References
Defin itio n: Ca rb on
Na notu be s 
• Single-wall carbon nanotubes are a new form of
carbon made by rolling up a single graphite sheet
to a narrow but long tube closed at both sides by
fullerene-like end caps.
• However, their attraction lies not only in the
beauty of their molecular structures: through
intentional alteration of their physical and
chemical properties fullerenes exhibit an
extremely wide range of interesting and
potentially useful properties.
SCHEMETIC VIEW OF CNTs
INTRODUCTION
Carbon Nanotubes: Tiny tubes
about 10,000 times thinner than a
human hair consist of rolled up
sheets of carbon hexagons.
Discovered in 1991 by researchers
at NEC, they have the potential for
use as minuscule wires or in ultra
small electronic devices. To build
those devices, scientists must be
able to manipulate the Nanotubes in
a controlled way. IBM researchers
using an atomic force microscope
(AFM), an instrument whose tip can
apply accurately measured forces to
atoms and molecules, have recently
devised a means of changing a
nanotube's position, shape and
orientation, as well as cutting it
Imp ortan t H isto ry 
• 1991 Discovery of multi-wall carbon nanotubes by S. Iijima
• 1992 Conductivity of carbon nanotubes
• J. W. Mintmire, B. I. Dunlap and C. T. White
• 1993 Structural rigidity of carbon nanotubes
• G. Overney, W. Zhong, and D. Tománek
• 1993 Synthesis of single-wall nanotubes by S Iijima and T Ichihashi
• 1995 Nanotubes as field emitters
• By A.G. Rinzler, J.H. Hafner, P. Nikolaev, L. Lou, S.G. Kim, D. Tománek, P. Nordlander,
D.T. Colbert, and R.E. Smalley
• 1997 Hydrogen storage in nanotubes
• A C Dillon, K M Jones, T A Bekkendahl, C H Kiang, D S Bethune and M J Heben
• 1998 Synthesis of nanotube peapods B.W. Smith, M. Monthioux, and D.E. Luzzi
• 2000 Thermal conductivity of nanotubes
• Savas Berber, Young-Kyun Kwon, and David Tománek
• 2001 Integration of carbon nanotubes for logic circuits
• P.C. Collins, M.S. Arnold, and P. Avouris
• 2001 Intrinsic superconductivity of carbon nanotubes
• M. Kociak, A. Yu. Kasumov, S. Guéron, B. Reulet, I. I. Khodos, Yu. B. Gorbatov, V. T.
Volkov, L. Vaccarini, and H. Bouchiat
Pro perties  

• Metallic conductivity (e.g. the salts A3C60

(A=alkali metals))
• Superconductivity with Tc's of up to 33K
(e.g. the salts A3C60 (A=alkali metals))
• Ferromagnetism (in (TDAE)C60 - without
the presence of d-electrons)
• Non-linear optical activity
• Polymerization to form a variety of 1-, 2-,
and 3D polymer structures
•
Pro perties (2 ) 

• Nanotubes can be either electrically conductive

or semiconductive, depending on their helicity.
• These one-dimensional fibers exhibit electrical
conductivity as high as copper, thermal
conductivity as high as diamond,
• Strength 100 times greater than steel at one
sixth the weight, and high strain to failure.
• Current length limits are about one millimeter.
•
HOW IT WORKS?
• Vander Waals forces: Attractive forces
among atoms and molecules hold
Nanotubes firmly against the surfaces they
are placed on. The Vander Waals
interaction between the Nanotubes and the
surfaces on which they rest is itself strong
enough to change the
shape of Nanotubes. In general, they tend to
adapt to the shape of the surface on which they
sit by bending and becoming slightly squashed.
Those changes can cause the properties of
Nanotubes on surfaces to differ
from those of perfect Nanotubes, which are
straight and have circular cross-sections. This
raises the possibility of tailoring. Nanotubes'
properties by intentionally changing their
shapes.
Curre nt A pplica tio ns 
• Carbon Nano-tubes are extending our ability to
fabricate devices such as:
• Molecular probes
• Pipes
• Wires
• Bearings
• Springs
• Gears
• Pumps
Ma nufa ctu ring
Te chniqu es 
• Evaporation of solid carbon in arc
discharge,

• Laser ablation,

• Catalytic chemical vapor deposition of

carbon containing gases,

• Catalytic decomposition of fullerenes .

Futu re A pplic atio ns 
• Molecular transistors.

• Field emitters.

• Building blocks for bottom-up electronics.

• Smaller, lighter weight components for next generation

spacecraft.

• Enable large quantities of hydrogen to be stored in small low

pressure tanks.

• Space elevator, Instead of blasting off for the heavens

astronauts could reach the ISS as easily as they would a
department store: “Next floor, LEO, watch your step please!”
Na notu be F un!  
• You can see animations of virtual nanotubes by
following these links:
• http://www.photon.t.u-
tokyo.ac.jp/~maruyama/nanotube.html
• Then select “Animation Gallery”
• Also http://www.pa.msu.edu/cmp/csc/simindex.html
•

• You can create your own virtual SWNT at:

• http://jcrystal.com/steffenweber/JAVA/jnano/jnano.html
Refe re nc es 
• http://www.pa.msu.edu/cmp/csc/nanotube.html
•
• Localized and Delocalized Electronic States in Single-Wall Carbon
Nanotubes
T. Pichler, M. Knupfer, M. S. Golden, J. Fink, A. Rinzler and R. E. Smalley
Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 4729 (1998)
•
• http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/slup/CuttingEdge/May00/nanotubes.html
• Dr. Sander Tans and Prof. Dr. Cees Dekker of the section Quantum
Transport at TU Delft,
• http://www.photon.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~maruyama/nanotube.html
• http://jcrystal.com/steffenweber/JAVA/jnano/jnano.html
• http://www.pa.msu.edu/cmp/csc/nasa/
• http://www.pa.msu.edu/cmp/csc/simindex.html
• http://mmptdpublic.jsc.nasa.gov/jscnano/