Physical and Chemical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes

"Much research has been devoted to the study of the equilibrium structure of carbon nanotubes. Simply put, carbon nanotubes exist as a macro-molecule of carbon, analagous to a sheet of graphite rolled into a cylinder. Carbon nanotubes are rolled up graphene sheets with a quasi-one-dimensional structure of nanometer-scale diameter. In these last twenty years, carbon nanotubes have attracted much attention from physicists, chemists, material scientists, and electronic device engineers because of their excellent structural, electronic, optical, chemical and mechanical properties. There are numerous carbon nanotubes applications which take full advantage of CNTs unique properties of aspect ratio, mechanical strength, electrical and thermal conductivity. In addition, carbon nanotubes are direct beneficiaries of the rich history and vast body of knowledge associated with carbon chemistry. Consequently, carbon nanotubes can be functionalized in countless ways using a variety of well-understood chemical reactions. In addition, the geometry of a nanotube allows for the formation of novel synthetic structures not possible with other carbon structures. Carbon nanotube research, especially that aiming at industrial applications, is becoming more important. Physical and Chemical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes covers recent topics regarding the physical, structural, chemical and electric properties on carbon nanotubes."