CARBON Buckyballs to Nanothbes

摘要

The feature articles in this issue of Interface focus on the research and development of carbon-based fullerene and carbon nanostructures. Carbon is a versatile element and can form various allotropes, including graphite, diamond, and fullerene-like structures. The most significant spin-off product of fullerene research, leading to the discovery of the C60 "buckyball" by the 1996 Nobel Prize laureates Robert F. Curl, Harold W. Kroto, and Richard E. Smalley, are nanotubes based on carbon or other elements. When a single sheet of graphite honeycomb is rolled, it is possible to produce a variety of carbon cylinders termed as carbon nanotubes. The extreme properties of fullerenes and carbon nanotubes, such as outstanding mechanical, thermal, electronic, and electrical properties, coupled with chemical robustness, have spurred a broad range of applications. Being only a few nanometers in diameter and a millimeter long, the high length-to-width aspect ratio of nanotubes has provided truly unprecedented molecules for macroscopic devices of this size. This area of research has seen a strong support both from government and industrial sources during the recent years.