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Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTS), as one-dimensional nanomaterials, are light in weight, perfectly connected in hexagonal structure, and have many abnormal mechanical, electrical and chemical properties. In recent years, with the deepening of the research of carbon nanotubes and nanomaterials, their broad application prospects have been continuously displayed.


Carbon nanotubes are mainly composed of carbon atoms arranged in hexagons to form a coaxial tube with several to dozens of layers. A fixed distance between the layers is maintained, about 0.34nm, and the diameter is generally 2~20 nm. According to the different orientations of the carbon hexagon along the axis, it can be divided into three kinds: sawtooth, armchair and spiral.

Structural feature

The carbon atoms in carbon nanotubes are mainly sp2 hybrid, while the hexagonal grid structure has a certain degree of bending, forming a spatial topology, in which a certain sp3 hybrid bond can be formed, that is, the formed chemical bond has both sp2 and sp3 hybrid states. These p orbitals overlap with each other to form highly delocalized large π bonds outside the graphene sheets of carbon nanotubes. Large π bonds on the outer surface of carbon nanotubes are the chemical basis of non-covalent bonding between carbon nanotubes and some macromolecules with conjugation properties.