Carbon nanobud

  In nanotechnology, carbon nanobuds form a material (discovered in 2007) which combines two previously discovered allotropes of carbon: carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. In this new material fullerenes are covalently bonded to the outer sidewalls of the underlying nanotube. Consequently, Nanobuds exhibit properties of both carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. For instance, the mechanical properties and the electrical conductivity of the nanobuds are similar to those of corresponding carbon nanotubes. However, because of the higher reactivity of the attached fullerene molecules, the hybrid material can be further functionalized through known fullerene chemistry. Additionally, the attached fullerene molecules can be used as molecular anchors to prevent slipping of the nanotubes in various composite materials, thus improving the composite’s mechanical properties.

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Due to the large number of highly curved fullerene surfaces acting as electron emission sites on conductive carbon nanotubes, nanobuds possess advantageous field emission characteristics. Randomly oriented nanobuds have already been demonstrated to have an extremely low work function for field emission of electrons. Reported test measurements show field thresholds of about 0.65 V/μm, (non-functionalized SWNTs have a field threshold for field emission as high as 2 V/μm) and a much higher current density as compared with that of corresponding pure SWNTs.

Practical applications

Properties such as chemical reactivity, good dispersion and variable band gap electronic structure suggest wide applicability of nanobuds.^[1] As the production processes are scalable, the nanobud applications may have industrial importance.

Canatu Oy, a Finnish company, claims the intellectual property rights for nanobuds and its applications.^[2]

References

1. ^ Nature Nanotechnology 2(3), 156-161.
2. ^ www.canatu.com

Nasibulin, A. G., Peter. V. Pikhitsa, Hua. Jiang, David. P. Brown, A. V. Krasheninnikov, Anton S. Anisimov, Paula Queipo, Anna Moisala, David Gonzalez, Gunther Lientschnig, Abdou Hassanien, Sergey D. Shandakov, Giulio Lolli, Daniel E. Resasco, Mansoo Choi, David Tománek, and Esko I. Kauppinen (2007) "A Novel Hybrid Carbon Nanomaterial". Nature Nanotechnology 2(3), 156-161.