Encyclopedia of carbon nanoforms

Abstract

Since the discovery of C60 in 1985 and the paper on "Helical microtubules of graphitic carbon" in 1991, research into carbon nanotechnology has undergone a tremendous boom. As a result, a vast number of new carbon nanoforms have been identified, studied, and reported. Carbon nanostructures can range from structurally well-defined molecules to larger "macromolecules" of which the atomic arrangement cannot be described precisely. This chapter gives a comprehensive summary of different sp2 and quasi-sp2 carbon nanoforms, with special emphasis on their topology and morphology. We discuss briefly their various synthesis conditions and potential applications.