Premium
20 Years of Carbon Nanotubes
Author(s) -
Su Dang Sheng
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201100330
Subject(s) - carbon nanotube , fossil fuel , nanotechnology , greenhouse gas , global warming , natural resource economics , environmental science , climate change , materials science , engineering , waste management , ecology , economics , biology
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been known since 1976,[1] and single-walled carbon nanotubes since 1993.[2] However, the observation of “helical microtubules of graphitic carbon” by electron microscopy, reported by Sumio Iijima from the Japanese electronic company NEC in a 1991 publication in Nature,[3] signaled the birth of a new research area and inspired a flood of scientific activities worldwide, crossing several disciplines. Soon after the report in Nature, CNTs were found to have excellent mechanical, physical, and chemical properties, and in fact were presumed to combine all the best properties.[4] A wide range of methods has been developed to produce CNTs on a large scale, modify them, and integrate them into devices or use them in materials science, catalysis, and energy research. Billions of dollars, funded by governments, organizations, and foundations, have been invested in these research activities. Many applications of CNTs have been demonstrated on the basis of these efforts and innovations