NanoScienceWorks

Fullerenes and Carbon Nanotubes

Authors

Publication Date

Read full article online

Abstract

The Nobel Prize winning discovery of fullerenes initiated a new era in carbon chemistry. In addition to the two well-known allotropes, graphite and diamond, a large number of carbon structures were synthesized. Here we will first discuss the structure of single- and multiwalled nanotubes and the nanotube “ropes.” The fullerene molecule (primarily the most abundant fullerene, C₆₀), the polymerized, and doped fullerenes will be considered. We will review some of the physical properties, mostly focusing on the electronic structure: electrical conduction, superconductivity, and magnetism.

Excerpted From:

Dekker Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology - 6 Volume Set