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Dr. Anita S. Ethiraj Associate Professor

There are two types of carbon nanotubes: single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs). SWNTs have a diameter between 0.7-2 nm and a very long tube length. They consist of hexagonal rings that form the tube sidewall and pentagonal rings that form caps at each end. The structure of SWNTs can be conceptualized by wrapping a graphene sheet into a seamless cylinder. The way the sheet is wrapped is represented by indices (n,m), which classify SWNTs as armchair, zigzag, or chiral depending on the chiral angle.

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50 views

Dr. Anita S. Ethiraj Associate Professor

There are two types of carbon nanotubes: single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes (MWNTs). SWNTs have a diameter between 0.7-2 nm and a very long tube length. They consist of hexagonal rings that form the tube sidewall and pentagonal rings that form caps at each end. The structure of SWNTs can be conceptualized by wrapping a graphene sheet into a seamless cylinder. The way the sheet is wrapped is represented by indices (n,m), which classify SWNTs as armchair, zigzag, or chiral depending on the chiral angle.

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Govarthanan
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EEE514

Dr. Anita S. Ethiraj


Associate Professor
TYPES OF CARBON NANOTUBES

Carbon Nanotubes Classification : Two types

1. SINGLE WALLED NANOTUBES


SWNTs- Single Layer

2. MULTI WALLED NANOTUBES MWNTs- Multiple


layers of CNTs around
the single one
SINGLE WALLED NANOTUBES
 Most single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) have a diameter of close to 1
nanometer (0.7 – 2 nm), with a tube length that can be many
millions of time longer.

 A SWNT consists of two separate regions with different physical and


chemical properties . The first is the sidewall of the tube and the
second is the end cap of the tube. This end cap structure is similar to
or derived from a smaller fullerene, such as C60. Carbon atoms
placed in hexagons and pentagons form the end cap structure. It can
be easily derived from the Euler’s theorem that twelve pentagons are
needed in order to obtain a closed cage structure. The combination
of a pentagon and five surrounding hexagons results in the desired
curvature of the surface to enclose a volume. Second rule is the
isolated pentagon rule that states that the distance between
pentagons on the fullerene shell is maximized in order to obtain a
minimal local curvature and surface stress, resulting in a more stable
 The other structure of which a SWNT is composed is a
cylinder. It is generated when a graphene sheet of a certain
size that is wrapped in a certain direction in order to form a
closed cylinder.
 Two atoms in the graphene sheet are chosen
How
e is one of which serves the role as origin. The
it done? sheet is rolled until the two atoms coincide.

 Though carbon atoms are involved in aromatic rings, the C=C


bond angles are no longer planar as they should ideally be.
This means that the hybridization of carbon atoms are no
longer pure sp2 but get some percentage of the sp3 character,
in a proportion that increases as the tube radius of curvature
decreases.
 The structure of a SWNTs can be conceptualized by wrapping
a one-atom-thick layer of graphite called graphene in to a
seamless cylinder.
Schemes that Represent a SWNTs
(a) Extension in 1 D of a fullerence
molecular cluster. C60 can be
extended into two end caps of a
nanotube 0.7 nm in diameter.

(b) Strip of a graphene sheet rolled up


seamlessly into a hollow cylinder

(c) 2D graphene sheets illustrating


lattice vector a1 and a2 and the roll
up vector Ch=na1+ma2

(d) The way the graphene sheet is


wrapped is represented by a pair of
indices (n,m) called the chiral vector.

(e) The diagram is constructed for


(n,m)= (11,2)

(f) Shaded region between (2n,-n) and


(n,n) represents the area of unique
indices.
STRUCTURE OF CNTs
 The (n,m) nanotube naming scheme can
be thought of as a vector (Ch) in an
infinite graphene sheet that describes
how to "roll up" the graphene sheet to
make the nanotube.

 This vector is called the chiral vector .

 Chiral Vector: The vector pointing from


the first atom towards the other is called
the chiral vector and its length is equal to
the circumference of the nanotube.

 T denotes the nanotube axis, the direction of tube axis is perpendicular to the
chiral vector
 a1 and a2 are the unit vectors of graphene in real space. The integers n and m
denote the number of unit vectors along two directions in the honeycomb
crystal lattice of graphene.
STRUCTURE OF CNTs

The arrows indicate two different


rolling directions which give rise to
armchair and zigzag nanotube
Classification of SWNTs
TYPE CHIRAL ANGLE (θ) CHIRAL VECTOR /
NOMENCLATURE
ARM CHAIR 30° (n, n)
ZIG-ZAG 0° (n,0)
CHIRAL 0° < |θ|< 30° (n, m)

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