Carbon Nanotube Innovations: Science, Commerce & Future Use

Introduction to Carbon Nanotubes

Most simply phrased, the carbon nanotube is a form of carbon. The most recently uncovered of eight carbon allotropes, it is a molecular configuration of the basic element and is categorized as a member of the fullerene family. The fullerene allotrope has itself only recently been added to the list of known configurations. A spherical manifestation of the element, this molecule is similar to the tubular form in its linked, hexagonal structure and hollow walls (Wikipedia, 1).

The carbon nanotube eluded full exploitation for so long perhaps because of its novel structure, and more certainly for lack of the proper magnification technology needed to fully explore its possible applications. Cylindrically shaped, carbon nanotubes are so named for their extremely small diameter, which can be estimated at "a few nanometers (approximately 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair), while they can be up to several millimeters in length" (Wikipedia, 1). The exponential comparison of length to the decisively minute diameter renders a form of carbon with a unique permutation of properties and, thus, of applications.

Discovery and Early Research

It is widely noted that Sumio Iijima "discovered" the carbon nanotube in 1991, when he utilized the process of orbital hybridization to merge atomic particles in the synthesis of a new allotrope. In fact, however, journal records illustrate that researchers had in some form or another ventured to devise practical applications for the microscopic exploratory potential in extraordinarily precise molecular filaments since as far back as 1889 (Monthioux et al., 2). It was with Iijima's published article on behalf of the NEC Corporation, however, that the modern inception of the carbon nanotube into the thereafter increasingly proliferated discipline of nanotechnology began in earnest.

Iijima produced a study documenting his team's formation of a new, usable carbon allotrope: "using an arc-discharge evaporation method similar to that used for fullerene synthesis, the needles grow at the negative end of the electrode used for the arc discharge. Electron microscopy reveals that each needle comprises coaxial tubes of graphitic sheets, ranging in number from 2 up to about 50. On each tube the carbon-atom hexagons are arranged in a helical fashion about the needle axis" (Iijima, 56).

Following the publication of his findings, the carbon nanotube developed into an item of central importance in the advancement of its field. Nanotechnology concerns the implementation of technological strategies executed at a scale of infinitesimal smallness, with the ambition of observing and manipulating matter at the atomic level as a prospective eventual horizon. The implications of nanotechnology extend through virtually any discipline, offering enhancements to computer hardware, medical equipment and procedure, military equipment, building resources, and space exploration.

Works Cited

Adler, R. (2006). Carbon-nanotube 'Strings' May ID Single Molecules. New Scientist.

AzoNano. (2005). Prestigious Award for Nano-fiber Reinforced Concrete. Nanotechnology.

Dresselhaus, M. (1998). Carbon Nanotubes. Physics World.

Forro, L. et al. (1999). Electronic and Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes. Institut De Physique Des Nanostructures.

Iijima, S. (1991). Helical Microtubules of Graphitic Carbon. Nature, 354(6348).

Makar, J. (2003). Cement/Single Walled Carbon Nanotube Composite Materials. National Research Council Canada.

Monthioux, M. & Kuznetsov, V. (2006). Who Should Be Given Credit for the Discovery of Carbon Nanotubes. Carbon, 44.

Wikipedia. (2006). Carbon Nanotube. Wikipedia.

Yu, M.; Lourie, O.; Dyer, M.J.; Moloni, K.; Kelly, T.F. & Ruoff, R.S. (2000). Strength and Breaking Mechanism of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Under Tensile Load. Science, 28.

Young, K. (2006). Even on the Ground, Space Elevators May Have Uses. NewScientist Space.