Electrochemistry in one dimension: applications of carbon nanotubes

EMILIANO N. PRIMO, FABIANA GUTIÉRREZ, MARÍA D. RUBIANES, NANCY F. FERREYRA, MARCELA C. RODRÍGUEZ, MARÍA. L. PEDANO, AURELIEN GASNIER, ALEJANDRO GUTIERREZ, MARCOS EGUÍLAZ, PABLO DALMASSO, GUILLERMINA LUQUE.; SOLEDAD BOLLO; CONCEPCIÓN PARRADO; GUSTAVO A. RIVAS

Advances in Electrochemical Science and Engineering

Wiley-VCH

Lugar: Weinheim; Año: 2015; p. 83 - 119

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) were discovered in 1991 by Iijima. The widespread research on CNTs started in 1990s but was preceded in 1980 by the first industrial synthesis of some product today known as CNTs as well as documented observations of hollow carbon nanofibers as early as 1950s. CNTs are promising materials, with tensile strength significantly higher than that of the steel, a thermal conductivity better than all but purest diamond, and electrical conductivity similar to copper and with the ability to carry higher currents. They represent an important group of nanoscale materials with properties very different from those of the conventional ones. At such small scales, the materials present unique optical, electrical, chemical and mechanical characteristics. Therefore, CNTs present exceptional properties that make them interesting candidates for applications in different fields mainly due to their unique structure and chemistry. They have been used for a large number of applications in very different fields: scanning probe microscopy, field emission, nanoelectronics and solar cell technology. The one dimensional nature of the basic CNT structure allows having a huge surface area, the feasibility to act as semiconductor or metal, the existence of multiple direct band-gaps, and the possibility of attachment a diversity of functional groups and nanoparticles. Since 2006 the capacity of production, one of the first limitations of CNTs synthesis, largely increased all over the world and the number of patents and journal publications grew dramatically. Today, is possible to find CNTs everywhere: as composite bicycle frame, antifouling coatings, printed electronic and electrostatically discharge shielding among others. CNTs have also received enormous attention as analytical tool in the construction of (bio)sensors either to support the biorecognition element or to improve the transduction event, as it was extensively reviewed.