This document provides information on the properties and applications of various nanocarbon materials, including graphite, diamond, buckyballs, carbon nanotubes, and their uses. It discusses how graphite has layered structures held together by van der Waals bonds, making it soft, slippery, and electrically conductive. Diamond has a 3D covalent structure making it very hard but also brittle and an electrical insulator. Buckyballs are spherical carbon molecules that can form weak van der Waals crystals. Carbon nanotubes can be either metallic or semiconducting depending on their structure, and have excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties leading to uses like conductive composites and transistors.

1. 1
Lec. (7)
Structure of matter

2. Graphite – Van der Waals Bonds
2
www.scifun.ed.ac.uk/card/flakes.html

3. www.webelements.com
Graphite
3

4. Graphite
Soft and slippery Many strong covalent bonds holding the structure together
but only in 2 dimensions. The layers are free to slide easily
over one another. Graphite powder is used as a lubricant.
Brittle
All of the bonds are directional within a layer and stress
across a layer will tend to break them. Graphite rods used for
electrolysis easily break when dropped.
Electrical conductor
Only three of the valence (outer shell) electrons are used in
sigma bonding. The other electron is in a 'p' orbital which can
overlap laterally with neighbouring 'p' orbitals making giant
molecular pi orbitals that extend over the whole of each layer.
Electrons are free to move within these delocalised pi
orbitals.
Insoluble in water.
There are only very weak Van der Waal's attractions between
the carbon atoms and the water molecules whereas the
carbon atoms are bonded very tightly to one another.
Very high melting point
Many strong covalent bonds holding the layers together - it
requires massive amounts of energy to pull it apart
4

5. www.webelements.com
Diamond
5

6. Diamond
Hard Many strong covalent bonds holding the structure
together.
Brittle All of the bonds are directional and stress will tend to
break the structure (In a malleable substance, such as
for example a metal, the bonding is non-directional and
can still act if the particles are displaced with respect to
one another).
Insulator All of the valence (outer shell) electrons are used in
bonding. The bonds are sigma and the electrons are
located between the two carbon nuclei being bonded
together. None of the electrons are free to move
Insoluble in water. There are only very weak Van der Waal's attractions
between the carbon atoms and the water molecules
whereas the carbon atoms are bodned very tightly to
one another.
Very high melting point Many strong covalent bonds holding the structure
together - it requires massive amounts of energy to pull
it apart
6

7. www.webelements.com
Diamond
7

8. Nanocarbon
Properties &
Applications
• Electrical
• Mechanical
• Thermal
• Storage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yRjYiw_H_s
8

9. Fullerenes
Discovered in 1985
Nobel prize Chemistry 1996
Curl, Kroto, and Smalley
9

10. Buckyballs
C
60
32 facets
(12 pentagons and 20
hexagons)
C70, C76, and C84
10

11. Bucky Balls
• Symmetric shape
→ lubricant
• Large surface area
→ catalyst
• High temperature (~750oC)
• High pressure
• Hollow
→ caging particles
11

12. Buckyballs
• Forms a crystal by weak van der
Waals force
• Superconductivity
- K3C60: 19.2 K
- RbCs2C60: 33 K
12
Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 7the ed. 1996.

13. Buckyballs
• Forms a crystal by weak van der
Waals force
• Superconductivity
- K3C60: 19.2 K
- RbCs2C60: 33 K
http://invsee.asu.edu/nmodules/Carbonmod/crystalline.html
13

14. Buckyballs
Soft and slippery Few covalent bonds holding the molecules together but
only weak Vander Waals forces between molecules.
Brittle Soft weak crystals typical of covalent substances
Electrical Insulator No movement of electrons available from one molecule
to the next. The exception could be the formation of
nano-tubes that are capable of conducting electricity
along their length. These are the subject of some
experiments in micro electronics
Insoluble in water. There are only very weak Van der Waal's attractions
between the carbon atoms and the water molecules
whereas the carbon atoms are bonded very tightly to
one another in the molecules.
Low Melting Point Solids Typical of covalent crystals where only Van der Waal's
interactions have to be broken for melting.
14

15. Carbon Nanotubes (CNT)
• Like graphite but all coiled up
• Typically 10 Angstroms in diameter
• Can be electrically conductive or semiconducting
• SWNT and MWNT
– Composites, transistors, hydrogen storage
Courtesy of and ©Copyright Professor Charles M. Lieber Group
15

16. Nanotube
16

17. The "armchair" type has the characteristics of a metal
Armchair
Zigzag
Spiral
The "zigzag" type has properties that change depending on the tube diameter
The "spiral" type has the characteristics of a semiconductor
17

18. Nanotube
length
SWCNT – 1.9 nm
Zheng et al. Nature Materials 3 (2004) 673.
Length:
μm to cm
Diameter:
as low as 1 nm
High aspect ratio:
1000
diameter
→ quasi 1D solid
18

19. Nanotube Intro Video
• Earth and sky: Properties of Nanotubes
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQAK4xxPGfM&mode=related&search=Nanotube
19

20. Introduction
A carbon nanotube (CNT) is
a tubular molecule with
axial symmetry and
diameter in the
nanometer range
(Muller).
It can be considered as a
rolled up graphene sheet.
However, it possesses
many properties that
leave no doubt this is not
just graphene.
http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phasetrans/2005/paper/img19.png
http://www.nanotech-now.com/nanotube-buckyball-sites.htm

21. Types
• Single Walled CNT (SWCNT): one-atom-thick CNTs
• Multi Walled CNT (MWCNT): concentric layers of
CNTs
http://www-ibmc.u-strasbg.fr/ict/images/SWNT_MWNT.jpg

22. Properties
Among some of the
properties of the CNTs
we can find:
• Electrical: Both metallic and non-metallic
behaviors are observed,
while geometry plays a profound
part in determining the electronic
behavior. (Ebbesen)
• Elastic: Tensile Young’s module and
torsion shear module comparable to
that of diamond (Lu).
http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/sites/family/img/27335_Electricity.jpg
http://www.nanoshel.com/research-center/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ballistic-impact.jpg

23. Properties
• Mechanical: Carbon
nanotubes have high
strength plus
extraordinary
flexibility and
resilience. (Salvetat)
• Thermal: Thermal
expansion of carbon
nanotubes will be
essentially isotropic
that is, uniform in all
directions (Ruoff).
http://brent.kearneys.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/carbon_nanotube.jpg

24. Nanotube Stats
• Current capacity
Carbon nanotube 1 GAmps / cm2
Copper wire 1 MAmps / cm2
• Thermal conductivity
Comparable to pure diamond (3320 W / m.K)
• Temperature stability
Carbon nanotube 750 oC (in air)
Metal wires in microchips 600 – 1000 oC
• Caging
May change electrical properties
→ can be used as a sensor
24

25. Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are the strongest known material.
• Young Modulus (stiffness):
Carbon nanotubes 1250 GPa
Carbon fibers 425 GPa (max.)
High strength steel 200 GPa
• Tensile strength (breaking strength)
Carbon nanotubes 11- 63 GPa
Carbon fibers 3.5 - 6 GPa
High strength steel ~ 2 GPa
• Elongation to failure : ~ 20-30 %
• Density:
Carbon nanotube (SW) 1.33 – 1.40 gram / cm3
Aluminium 2.7 gram / cm3
  E
25

26. Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes
• IFW-Dresden Carbon Nanotubes
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgToxaOqF10&mode=related&search=Nanotube
• Synthesis of Carbon nanotube
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N79nlhwcgM&mode=related&search=C60%20Ful
lerene%20Fullereno%20Buckyball
• Growth of Carbon nanotube
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p8vFdCJRZE&NR=1&feature=fvwp
26

27. 27

28. 28

29. 29

30. Water Resistant Coatings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIGMB_R3pgI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTbz8w1SB1U&feature=fvw
30

31. Carbon Fiber
A 6 μm diameter carbon filament
(running from bottom left to top
right) compared to a human hair.
31

32. CNT Carbon Nanotube Opti-Flex composite handle technology,
provids maximum handle flex-three times greater than aluminum
Sports Equipment
32

33. Carbon Nanotube/Cement
Composite Systems
In concrete, they increase the tensile strength, and halt crack propagation.
33

34. The Space Elevator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVV0S9cNLKI&feature=related
www.nanooze.org
34

35. 35
www.enterprisemission.com

36. Space Elevator
• NOVA space elevator intro
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnwZmWoymeI&
mode=related&search
• 2 minute space elevator intro
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2UZDHHDhog
• Space Elevator Competition: USST's
First Place Climb
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkdfuQdoW_Q&mode=related&sear
ch=space-elevator%20turbo%20crawler
36

37. CNT light bulb filament:
alternative to tungsten filaments in
incandescent lamps
The average efficiency is 40% higher than that of a tungsten filament at the
same temperature (1400–2300 K).
37

38. Nano Radio
38
•http://nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110566

39. When a radio wave of a specific frequency impinges on the
nanotube, it begins to vibrate vigorously.
An electric field applied to the nanotube forces electrons to be
emitted from its tip.
This electrical current may be used to detect the mechanical
vibrations of the nanotube, and thus listen to the radio waves.
39
•http://nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=110566

40. Nanotube Radio
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkQkzvnstkg
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQz9C7yE1kc
&feature=related
40

41. Carbon Nanotube
Electronics
• Carbon nanotube in microchip
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74YkJYT7Uj4&mod
e=related&search=Nanotube
• Customized Y-Shaped Nanotubes
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGWHBQQKmOs
Transistors – the active component of virtually all electronic devices, are what we
refer to as electronic switching devices. In a transistor, a small electric current can
be used to control the on/off of a larger current. 41

42. Semiconducting CNTs have been used to fabricate field effect transistors (CNTFETs).
The electron mean free path in SWCNTs can exceed 1 micron (this is very large)
therefore it is projected that CNT devices will operate in the frequency range of
42
hundreds of GHz.

43. Kavli Institute Delft
SEM image of superconducting transistors 43

44. CNT-FED
Professor George Lisensky
http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/cineplex/nanoquest/applications.html
44

45. CNT-FED
Carbon nanotubes can be electrically conductive and due to their small diameter of
several nanometers, they can be used as field emitters with extremely high efficiency
for field emission displays (FED). The principle of operation resembles that of the
45
cathode ray tube, but on a much smaller length scale.

46. Bucky Paper
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 46

47. Warwick ICAST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4Ax8sY2U4A&mode=related&search=Nanotube
47

48. 48

49. Hydrogen Storage
Carbon nanotubes covered in titanium atoms provide a very efficient method for
storing hydrogen.
49

50. 'Artificial muscles' made from
nanotubes
"Artificial muscles" have been made from millions of carbon nanotubes. Like natural
muscles, providing an electrical charge causes the individual fibers to expand and
the whole structure to move. 50

51. Bone cells grown on
carbon nanotubes
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have published findings
that show, for the first time, that bone cells can grow and proliferate on a scaffold
of carbon nanotubes. Scientists found that the nanotubes, 100,000 times finer
than a human hair, are an excellent scaffold for bone cells to grow on.
http://biosingularity.wordpress.com/2006/03/21/researchers-grow-bone-cells-on-carbon-
nanotubes/
http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/03/17/123/ 51

52. Nano SQUID
A SQUID is a superconducting interferometer device. SQUID devices can be used to
monitor infinitesimally small magnetic fields or currents. The originality of this work, is
to use gate-tunable carbon-nanotubes (CNT) for the Josephson junctions. The device
combines features of single electron transistors with typical properties of a SQUID
interferometer. The gate tunability of the CNT junctions enhance the sensitivity of the
device which can in principle detect the spin of a single molecule. 52