Carbon nanotubes: from fundamental nanoscale objects towards functional nanocomposites and applications

In this article we give a general introduction into the field of carbon nanotubes. On one side we describe carbon nanotubes as fundamental nanoscale objects and explain their high application potential. On the other side, we focus on carbon nanotubes as non-homogeneous materials as obtained from different sources. Methods for production, characterization, purification and functionalization and dispersions are presented explaining chances, challenges and limitations. Finally, we deal with the broad field of applications for carbon nanotubes with special emphasis onto high performance carbon nanotube composite materials.
The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from Regional Government of Aragon (DGA) under its “Group of Excellence” programme (DGA-T66). W.M. gratefully acknowledges funding from Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under project NANOPOLICOND (MAT 2006-13167-C02-02). E.M. and A.M.B gratefully acknowledge support by MEC and ERDF under project SENAGAS (TEC2004-05098-C02-02). A.M.B. and M.T.M. gratefully acknowledge funding from DGA under Priority Research Line Projects (PIPO21/2005 and PIPO15/2005).