Nanomaterials

Biomedical, Environmental, and Engineering Applications

Suvardhan Kanchi, Shakeel Ahmed, Myalowenkosi I. Sabela, Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain, Suvardhan Kanchi, Shakeel Ahmed, Myalowenkosi I. Sabela, Chaudhery Mustansar Hussain

• Publisher: Wiley-Scrivener
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781119370260
• eBook ISBN: 9781119370369
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Materials Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

The evolution in the nanotechnology world clearly signifies a need for a broader understanding of the subject and this book will contribute to the effort.

Nanostructure science and technology is a broad and interdisciplinary area of research and development that has been growing explosively in the past decades. The contents of this book include mainly the fundamentals of nanoparticles, state-of-the-art in synthesis and characterization of nanomaterials, as well the influence of nanomaterials on the analytical systems (macro to micro & lab-on-a-chip) for biomedical, environmental and engineering applications.

This book seeks to broaden the understanding of modern developments in nanomaterials and comprises excellent contributions from subject matter experts working on most aspects of nanomaterials and nanotechnology.

Part I
SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION

Chapter 1
Synthesis, Characterization and General Properties of Carbon Nanotubes

Falah H. Hussein^1*, Firas H. Abdulrazzak² and Ayad F. Alkaim³

¹College of Pharmacy, Babylon University, Hilla, Iraq

²Chemistry Department, College of Education for Pure Sciences, Diyala University, Diyala, Iraq

³College of Science for Women, Babylon University, Hilla, Iraq

^*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Carbon is among the most abundant elements found on Earth, forming different carbonaceous materials by bonding with various atoms, starting with hydrogen and ending with most of the elements on the periodic table. Besides, carbon atoms can react with each other to form different structures by using various types of hybridization: sp, sp², and sp³. The most important hybridization for carbon atoms is sp², which can form amazing and rare structures such as graphite, graphene, and fullerene. These carbonaceous nonomaterials have drawn great attention throughout the world as a result of their particular nano- and micro-structures, their unique physiochemical properties, and their potential unprecedented application in many fields. The most important nanostructures made of carbon material are carbon nanotubes (CNTs); the molecular structure of carbon nanotubes consists of pristine carbon atoms linked together to look like a polymer in a hexagonal arrangement in a monolayer of carbon atoms. This new carbon material consists of CNTs, which appear to become a reality for science, thanks to Iijima who synthesized one type of carbon nanotube and called it a single wall in 1991 with Ichihashi. This was a challenge and temptation at the same time due to its physiochemical properties being unknown to some extent, and the variety of types of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs), few-walled carbon nanotubes (FWNTs), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). Extensive studies and research were done on these materials due to their many specific physiochemical properties and representing The most abundant element in nature. There are three primary methods that are used for the synthesis of CNTs: chemical vapor deposition (CVD), arc-discharge, and laser ablation. In recent years, carbon nanotubes have been prepared under different labels for the various techniques used, and in fact represent the development of methods and techniques for the three methods mentioned above, with new titles. In any industrial application, the most important issues in the production process are represented by substrate cost, quality, and yield of product. The economic feasibility of the production of carbon nanotubes is seen in the CVD method, whereby hydrocarbon is pyrolyzed or dissociated in the presence of suitable metal catalysts. This has attracted attention due to the possibility of producing nanotubes on a large commercial scale. For various kinds of deposition processes, many materials are used as carbon sources, such as ROH or many unsaturated hydrocarbons, which are used as sources of energy in addition to many industrial purposes; thus, a lot of these sources are at risk of depletion in the near future in addition to the high cost of these materials compared with many other materials that can be used for the same purpose. Therefore, many attempts have used natural hydrocarbon precursors, which are interesting because of the possibility of the synthesis of CNTs from the bank of hydrocarbon compounds that are being renewed by nature that is available and low cost, such as essential oils, sucrose, or plant and animal waste. In this work, the waste from date palms is used as a source of carbon to synthesize CNTs. It is rare to find literature or books, which deal with carbon nanotubes without mentioning lijima, but the story of carbon nanotubes started before that; therefore, a section specifically about their history before lijima has been included here. A variety of techniques are used to characterize the surface chemistry or structure of CNTs after covalent functionalization. These characterizations may be classified to qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative analyses.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, synthesis, chemical vapor deposition

1.1 Introduction

The molecular structure of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) consists of pristine carbon atoms linked together to look like polymer in a hexagonal arrangement of a monolayer of carbon atoms [1–3]. The carbon atoms react with each other to form different structures using various types of hybridizations: sp, sp², and sp³.

The most important hybridization for carbon atoms is sp², which can form amazing and rare structures such as graphite, graphene, and fullerene [1]. The most important nanostructures made of carbon material are CNTs. The CNTs appear to become a reality for science, thanks to Iijima [4], who synthesized the single-wall carbon nanotubes in 1991 with Ichihashi [5]. This was a challenge and temptation at the same time due to its physiochemical properties [6], being unknown to some extent, and the variety of types. The common types are single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), double-walled (DWNT), few-walled (FWNT), and multi-walled (MWNT). Extensive studies and research were done with these materials due to their many specific physiochemical properties and representing the most abundant element in nature.

Generally, there are three primary methods that are used for the synthesis of CNTs: chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [7], arc-discharge [8], and laser ablation [9]. In recent years, CNTs have been prepared under different labels for various techniques [10, 11]. The economic feasibility of the production of carbon nanotubes is seen in the CVD method, whereby hydrocarbon is dissociated in the presence of suitable metal catalysts. This has attracted attention due to the possibility of producing nanotubes on a large commercial scale [12]. For various kinds of deposition processes, many materials are used as carbon sources, such as ROH or many unsaturated hydrocarbons, which are used as sources of energy in addition to many industrial purposes. It is rare to find a literature or a book that deals with CNTs without mentioning lijima, but the story of CNTs started before that; therefore, a specific section deals with the history before lijima.

1.2 The History of Carbon Nanotubes

The first event where CNTs appeared was the Paris Universal Exposition [13] in 1889 in a patent by Edison that proposed the use of filaments in light bulbs. The filaments consisting of carbon atoms that were formed during thermal decomposition experiments that involved passing of cyanogens over red-hot porcelain. This may represent the first mention of the possibility for the preparation of CNTs. At that time, it was impossible to identify nanostructures because the resolutions of optical microscopes were only able to see filaments of a few micrometers, which prevented finding out more about these structures. Thus, the decision to synthesize CNTs remained hidden and without confirmation. But the evidence for the process and conditions of pyrolysis refer to MWNTs. The decision still remained hidden until specific, advanced technology appeared able to scan on the nanoscale. In 1939, the Siemens company succeeded in producing the first version of transmission electron microscopy, which opened new horizons to discover many details about CNTs. The first recorded attempt to study CNTs was done by two Russian researchers, Radushkevich and Lukyanovich [14] in 1952. The two res...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Preface
• Part I: Synthesis and Characterization
• Part II: Environmental and Engineering Applications
• Part III: Biological Applications
• Index
• End User License Agreement