Carbon nanotubes

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Properties

Carbon nanotubes feature remarkable physico-chemical properties that make this material a promising solution in many areas.
The following properties should be noted in particular:

• Electrical conductivity:
  Carbon nanotubes are conductors or semiconductors, based on coiling helicity. Their conductivity ranges from 1 S/cm to 100 S/cm. This property has been calculated and verified in experiments.

• Thermal conductivity:

Carbon nanotubes feature thermal conductivity close to that of diamond (3000 J/K), the best thermal conductor known.

• Mechanical performance:
  In the hexagon plane, the Young’s modulus for carbon nanotubes has been theoretically evaluated at 1TPa. Together with this outstanding strength, carbon nanotubes boast high flexibility and good plasticity.

• Adsorption:
  Nanotubes were first studied with the objective of becoming a means of storing hydrogen for the new fuel cells. Although this application has been gradually discarded, the fact remains that nanotubes have an empty space around the cylinder axis which can constitute a nanotank. The specific surface of nanotubes is approximately 250 m2/g, imparting good adsorption capacity.