Fullerene/carbon nanotube

As further research on fullerenes and carbon nanotubes materials is carried out, it is expected, because of the extreme properties exhibited by these carbon-based materials, that other interesting physics and chemistry will be discovered, and that promising applications will be found for fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and related materials. 

As with fullerenes, carbon nanotubes are also hydrophobic and must be made soluble for suspension in aqueous media. Nanotubes are commonly functionalized to make them water soluble although they can also be non-covalently wrapped with polymers, polysaccharides, surfactants, and DNA to aid in solubilization (Casey et al., 2005 Kam et al., 2005 Sinani et al., 2005 Torti et al., 2007). Functionalization usually begins by formation of carboxylic acid groups on the exterior of the nanotubes by oxidative treatments such as sonication in acids, followed by secondary chemical reactions to attach functional molecules to the carboxyl groups. For example, polyethylene glycol has been attached to SWNT to aid in solubility (Zhao et al., 2005). DNA has also been added onto SWNT for efficient delivery into cells (Kam et al., 2005). 

Nanocarbon structures such as fullerenes, carbon nanotubes and graphene, are characterized by their weak interphase interaction with host matrices (polymer, ceramic, metals) when fabricating composites [99,100]. In addition to their characteristic high surface area and high chemical inertness, this fact turns these carbon nanostructures into materials that are very difficult to disperse in a given matrix. However, uniform dispersion and improved nanotube/matrix interactions are necessary to increase the mechanical, physical and chemical properties as well as biocompatibility of the composites [101,102]. 

Highly Ordered Fullerenes, Carbon Nanotubes, and Carbon Nanohorns... 

The purpose of this review is to present recent developments on the utilization of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene in molecular electronics. 

Because of the great expectations that these carbon nanostructures—fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and related species20—have for potential applications in... 

Like the currently popular area, called nanoscience , the field of supramolecular chemistry has rather hazy boundaries. Indeed, both areas now share much common ground in terms of the types of systems that are considered. From the beginning, electrochemistry, which provides a powerful complement to spectroscopic techniques, has played an important role in characterizing such systems and this very useful book goes considerably beyond the volume on this same topic by Kaifer and Gomez-Kaifer that was published about 10 years ago. Some of the classic supramolecular chemistry topics such as rotaxanes, catenanes, host-guest interactions, dendrimers, and self-assembled monolayers remain, but now with important extensions into the realms of fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and biomolecules, like DNA. 

The development of new porous materials that could be used as adsorbents, catalysts, catalyst supports, molecular sieves, etc. [1], are very well discussed by several authors [2-9], describing interesting properties and characteristics of materials such as MCM-41, MCM-48, M41S, FSM16, lamellar phases, intercalation products, special CMS (carbon molecular sieves), fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, etc. being some of them silica based materials, and carbon based the others. 

FIGURE 2.9 Structural relationships between fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphite. 

Nanocarbons are among the most promising materials developed last years. Nanocarbon materials include fullerenes, carbon nanotubes (CNT), carbon nanofibers (CNF), nanodiamond, onions, and various hybrid forms and 3-dimensional structures based on these. Several years ago these materials were available in milligram-scale quantities. Now many of them are produced by tones per year. TMSpetsmash Ltd. research team has developed some new kinds of nanocarbon materials and processes for their production. 

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