Highly purified single-walled carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotube, also called buckytubes, are nanoscale hollow tubes composed of carbon atoms. The cylindrical carbon molecules feature high aspect ratios. This unique one-dimensional structure and concomitant properties endow carbon nanotubes with special natures, rendering them with unlimited potential in nanotechnology-associated applications. Carbon nanotubes are members of the fullerene family. A single-walled carbon nanotube can be described as a long tube formed by wrapping a single graphene sheet into a cylinder with diameter of about one nanometer, the ends of which are capped by fullerene cages. The fullerene structures, with alternating structures of five hexagons adjacent to one pentagon, form the surface with desired curvature to enclose the volume. Other polygon structures, such as pentagons and heptagons, constitute defects of sidewalls. The cylindrical sidewalls can be produced from different rolling directions to make single-walled carbon nanotubes with distinct structures and properties. Contributor: Junjie Chen, ORCID: 0000-0001-5055-4309, E-mail address: [e-mail], Department of Energy and Power Engineering, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, 2000 Century Avenue, Jiaozuo, Henan, 454000, P.R. China碳纳米管（Carbon nanotube），又称巴基管（buckytube），是由碳原子构成的纳米级中空管状结构。这类圆柱状碳分子具有极高的长径比。这种独特的一维结构及其伴随的固有特性赋予碳纳米管独特的性能，使其在纳米技术相关应用领域拥有无限潜力。碳纳米管属于富勒烯（fullerene）家族的一员。单壁碳纳米管（single-walled carbon nanotube）可视为将单层石墨烯（graphene）片卷成直径约1纳米的圆柱所形成的长管，其两端由富勒烯笼状结构封端。该富勒烯结构由交替排布的五元环与六元环构成，可形成具备适宜曲率的表面以包裹内部空间。其他多边形结构（如五边形、七边形）则构成管壁的缺陷位点。通过调整石墨烯片的不同卷绕方向，可制备得到结构与性能各异的单壁碳纳米管。贡献者：陈俊杰，ORCID: 0000-0001-5055-4309，电子邮箱：[e-mail]，河南理工大学机械与动力工程学院能源与动力工程系，中国河南省焦作市世纪大道2000号，邮编454000