Extra-ordinary chemical and physical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) also the success of large-scale production by a catalytic chemical vapor deposition method. It should be noted that lots of CNT-derived products are already in use and their viability strongly depend on their commercialization. We describe the synthesis techniques of various CNTs, and structural characterizations will be discussed, and finally their practical applications of these CNTs will be described from the industrial point of view as well as safety issue of CNTs.

We have fabricated low-defect graphene nanomeshes (GNMs) by using a non-lithographic method and observed large-amplitude ferromagnetism even at room temperature, only when pore edges of the GNMs were hydrogenterminated. The observed correlation between the inter-pore spacing and magnetism and also magnetic force microscope observations suggest that it is attributed to polarzied electron spins localized at the zigzag-type atomic structured pore-edges. The magnetic moment per edge dangling bond (∼0.3 µB) is also in quantitative agreement with two theories. Moreover, a spin pumping effect is found for fields applied in parallel with the GNM planes in few-layer ferromagnetic GNMs, while a magnetoresistance (MR) hysteresis loop is observed under perpendicular fields. The present ferromagnetic GNMs must also realize rare-element free, invisible, flexible, and ultra-light (wearable) magnets and spintronic devices, which can overcome environmental and material-resource problems.

Two CF₃ derivatives of C_90, C₉₀(30)(CF₃)₁₈ and C₉₀(35)(CF₃)_14, have been isolated via HPLC from the products of a high-temperature trifluoromethylation of a C₇₆–C₉₆ fullerene mixture with CF₃I. Their molecular structures were determined by single crystal X-ray crystallography using synchrotron radiation. The addition patterns of the new compounds are discussed in comparison with those of the corresponding chlorinated C₉₀.

A new clustered fullerene material {C₇₀}_n has been prepared and studied using UV/vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering and liquid-liquid extraction. The material was prepared from aqueous fullerene dispersions of C₇₀ by ultracentrifugation. The dispersions were obtained via an ordinary solvent-exchange procedure. Liquid–liquid extraction of {C₇₀}_n from water to the organic phase without any extra reagents was observed for the first time. {C₇₀}_n fullerene solid material was made and characterized with transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry.

Illumination of fullerene with visible light in the presence of oxygen leads to a transition of oxygen from triplet (ground) to singlet (excited) state where singlet oxygen is a long-lived reactive oxygen species. The effectiveness of fullerene as a singlet oxygen generator drastically decreases when fullerenes are condensed into a bulk material, mainly due to the polymerization ability. The ability of fullerene films to polymerize was studied for the C₆₀ fullerene films intercalated with tetraphenylporphyrine (TPP), CdS, CdTe, HNO₃ as well as the hydrogen plasma treated films. Raman spectroscopy was used for monitoring the polymerization process. The ability to polymerize was found to be tightly connected to the formation of charge-transfer (Wannier-Mott) excitons which are revealed in the absorption spectra and measured with the help of spectroscopic ellipsometry.

The influence of polymer-fullerene interactions and fullerene aggregation on the thermal stability of polymethylmethacrylate-fullerene C₆₀ nanocomposite has been studied by means of thermal desorption mass-spectrometry and the UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy.

Two newly synthesized water-soluble conjugates of Paclitaxel with malonodiserinolamide-derivatized [60]fullerene (C_60-ser) undergo hydrolysis and release their medical payload under biological conditions. In vivo testing of one of these compounds in a murine model showed tumor volume reduction similar to the FDA-approved drug Abraxane, but without the associated weight-loss, indicating better tolerance of this new formulation.

MALDI LIFT-TOF/TOF mass spectra of fullerene C₆₀ and six of its derivatives, methano[60]fullerene carboxylic acid, its ethyl ester, diethyl methano[60]fullerene dicarboxylate, and three isomeric tetraethyl bis-methano[60]fullerene tetracarboxylates (compounds I–VII, respectively) as model analytes were recorded and discussed. This technique used in mass spectrometry for the first time is proposed for the characterization, structure elucidation, and non-target screening of fullerenes.

Excitation processes and transport of recoiled and secondary electrons generated in fullerite and metal films under photons and electron irradiation were studied by computer simulation. Studied processes resulting in polymerization of fullerite were considered as the basic ones in formation of a pixel in electron nanolithography with fullerite film as an electron-beam resist. Reliability of the computer model and the important role of secondary electrons in the process of pixel formation were confirmed by comparison of the sizes of the calculated secondary electron swarm and the experimental cluster-pixel obtained previously. The photoelectron yield dependence on the incident photon’s energy was also obtained with the same computer model for metal foils which can be used as a radiation strip-detector.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are ideal candidates as electrode materials for neuronal stimulation and monitoring devices such as microelectrode arrays (MEA). They provide a high charge injection limit without significant Faradic reactions and carbon nanotube electrodes have a high surface area to volume ratio. Flexible MEAs typically consist of thin conductors buried in a flexible insulator such as polyimide, where the actual contact areas have been opened by dry etching of the polyimide. CNTs are positioned in these contact areas by a low temperature (350 ◦C) chemical vapour deposition process from a catalyst which was deposited on the contact in the polyimide recess. To overcome poisoning of the catalyst by outgassing from the sidewalls of the polyimide trenches even at such low temperatures, a pre-treatment of the catalyst in an ammonia atmosphere for 15 min at 40 mbar and 350 ◦C was introduced. CNT growth on identical structures made from polyimide and silicon is compared in order to identify the relevant issues affecting growth.

The generation of higher harmonics of carbon nanotubes interacting with femtosecond laser pulses was investigated. The analysis was conducted on the basis of quantum kinetic equation for the π-electrons involved in the inside of the band and inter-band transitions. The dynamics of the electromagnetic pulse, depending on the parameters of the problem, were studied.

The object of this work is to research the interaction of carbon nanotubes with organic molecules containing the diphenyloxide fragment in order to identify new properties for the obtained compounds.

This paper studies the sensor activity of carboxyl-modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (zig-zag, armchair type) to atoms and ions of alkali metals Na, Li, K. The mechanism of the carboxyl binding to the open border of the semi-infinite carbon nanotube is investigated. Calculations of the interaction processes between the sensor and sample alkali atoms and alkaline ions are performed. The process of scanning a sample surface site with atoms of metals under consideration is modeled and the functional carboxyl group chemical activity is defined. The research is performed by the MNDO method within the framework of the molecular cluster model and DFT method.

The paper presents theoretical research into vacancy formation in two types of boron-carbon nanotubes BCn, where n = 3. The research was performed using the MNDO method within the framework of an ionic-embedded covalent-cyclic cluster model, molecular cluster model and DFT method. We found that when a V-defect (vacancy) is introduced in a boron-carbon nanotube, the band gap of the defective tubules increases. This means that physical properties of materials can be purposefully changed by introducing defects. Vacancy migration along the atomic bonds in the tubule was simulated and vacancy transport properties were studied. It was found that the defect migration along different bonds actually represents the process of carbon or boron ions hopping between their stable states on the nanotube surface.

The possibilities of Medium-Energy Ion Scattering (MEIS) spectrometry combined with ion channeling for the estimation of the composition of single layer graphene oxide films and produced graphene layers deposited on the surface of standard silicon substrates was investigated. It was found that the oxygen amount in the natural surface silicon oxide ranges from 2-8 times the possible oxygen content in a graphene oxide layer. This causes difficulties in the estimation of the oxygen concentration in graphene oxide deposited on such substrates. The proposed method of preliminary single hydrogen cathode surface processing in electroplating bath leads to the significant decrease of surface layer oxygen content which results in an increase in the accuracy of reduced graphene oxide composition estimation.

Graphene films were synthesized by the low-pressure no flow CVD on polycrystalline nickel catalyst films grown by the self-ion assisted deposition technique at different biases. Graphene films were transferred to a SiO₂/Si substrate using PMMA. The graphene grown on Ni films with bimodal grain size distribution and weaker (111) texture had higher thickness uniformity and a lower number of graphene layers. The graphene grown on Ni films with a monomodal grain size distribution and stronger (111) texture had lower thickness uniformity and a higher number of graphene layers. The transport properties of the graphene films were investigated with the aid of Hall measurements.

Naturally-occurring nanostructured graphites from silicate magmatic rocks, which are rare, were characterized using electron microscope and X-ray spectroscopy. This graphite consists of porous carbon, nanographite layers, micro- and nanotubes. The porous carbon is classified as macroporous matter with a small amount of mezopores. Evidence for the unusual properties of porous carbon are given: nanographite layers are created at the exposed surface of sample and the nanotubes occurs in the bulk of porous carbon.

Since the discovery of graphene, researchers are not only interested in monatomic layers of carbon, but also in multilayered graphene structures named graphene-like films, which can be used, for example, as sensors. An understanding of the relationship between the growth conditions and the ability of the films to respond to certain gases, the ability to obtain films with desired properties and the ability to operate their sensor properties at the synthesis stage – are all of utmost scientific interest. In our study, we considered these issues. Synthetic conditions are not the only factors that affect the properties of the graphene-like films. In this work, we show that the electrical resistance also depends upon ambient conditions. Depending on the gas present in the environment, the resistance of the films can be changed. It follows from these results that we obtained carbon films possessing a selective sensitivity to ethanol vapor.

The current paper describes the effects caused by uniaxial tension of a graphene molecule in the course of the mechanochemical reaction. Basing on the molecular theory of graphene, the effects are attributed to both mechanical loading and chemical modification of the edge atoms of the molecule. The mechanical behavior is shown to be not only highly anisotropic with respect to the direction of the load application, but greatly dependent on the chemical modification of the molecule edge atoms, thus revealing the topological character of the graphene deformation.

The chief aim of this paper is to derive the matrix element of electron-phonon interaction in graphene as a function of phonon wave vector. The tight binding model, harmonic crystal approximation, and deformation potential approximation were employed for obtaining the matrix element. Required microscopic parameters are available in the current literature. This technique allows the most precise derivation of the electronphonon matrix element in graphene based on the semiempirical models. Scattering of electrons from the Dirac point is considered as most important. The 2D plots of the e-ph matrix element absolute value as a function of the phonon wave vector for in-plane modes are given as a result. These plots show the high anisotropy of the e-ph matrix element and singularities in high symmetry points. The results are in agreement with the long-wavelength approximation.

This study presents the results of quantum-chemical simulation of H₂O, NH₃, PH₃, and CH₄ molecules and their fragments adsorption onto graphene nanoclusters with different types of grain boundaries. We describe the molecule adsorption states on graphene and estimate the absorption energy characteristics. It is shown that the presence of grain boundaries changes the geometric and electronic parameters of grapheme, and can lead to a physical adsorption and chemisorption of molecules without dissociation, unlike in orderly graphene. Dissociative chemisorption of molecules on the grain boundaries is accompanied by some significant changes in the geometric, electronic, and energy state of graphene. The features of the energy change differences for the HOMO-LUMO of graphene with the chemisorbed dissociation fragments can be used to identify the gas molecules on graphene by their electronic spectra.

The propagation of ultra-short optical pulses in a thin film created by graphene grown on a boron nitride was considered, taking into account non-linear medium characteristics. Electron conduction in such a system described with a long-wave effective Hamiltonian for the low temperatures media. The electromagnetic field is taken in the framework of classical Maxwell equations. Dependence of the pulse shape on the initial pulse amplitude and the parameters of the linear and nonlinear polarization is shown.

In the current paper, synergistic compositions of detonation nanodiamond (DND) particles in the form of aggregates and fully deagglomerated 5nm particles were used as additives to 10W40 and 5W30 oils, correspondingly. Ringon-disk and block-on-ring tribological tests were performed under high load conditions (300N and 980N) using friction pairs with different relative hardness. Significant reduction of wear was observed for the HRC25/25, HRC25/50 and HRC30/HRC60 steel/steel friction pairs, while for the HRC60/60 steel/steel and HRA86/HRC24 hard alloy/steel friction pairs increased wear took place. It was concluded that use of ND in lubricants under high load conditions should be approached cautiously taking into account absolute and relative hardnesses of the friction surfaces.

Thermal transformations of naphthalene (C₁₀H₈), octafluoronaphthalene (C₁₀F₈) and their binary mixtures at 8.0 GPa have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission microscopies. As a result, the pronounced synergistic effect of fluorine and hydrogen on mechanisms, p, T parameters and products of pressure-temperature-induced transformations of carbon-containing systems has been established. Simultaneous presence of fluorine and hydrogen gives rise to significant reduction of the temperature thresholds (TT) for carbonization, graphitization and diamond formation in C₁₀H₈ – C₁₀F₈ mixtures in comparison with the TT values for pure C₁₀H₈ and C₁₀F₈ at the same pressure. This synergistic effect manifests itself also in the simultaneous presence in the products of transformation of both nano- and micrometer-sized diamond fractions. The reasons of formation of different diamond fractions in the products of binary mixture treatment are discussed in this work.

The high specific surface area of carbon nanowalls (CNWs) makes them an attractive catalyst support material or electrode material for energy storage devices (e.g. supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries). Secondary nucleation processes (formation of secondary nanowalls on the surface of pre-grown primary structures) play an important role in CNWs growth. It can significantly increase CNW film surface area, but at the same time be a limiting step for the production of films with an open pore structure. Both of these factors may be important for the applications mentioned above. In this work, we discuss possible mechanisms of secondary nucleation during CNW growth in the plasma of a direct current glow discharge. We also demonstrate a novel multi-step synthesis process with controllable secondary nucleation rates at different stages, which is an effective way to modulate CNW film morphology and produce films with desirable surface area and porosity.

The field-emission properties of nanocomposite films comprised of 10 – 20 nm-sized nickel particles immersed in a carbon matrix were investigated. The films were deposited onto silicon substrates by means of a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. The composite’s structure was controlled via deposition process parameters. Experiments demonstrated that the composite films can efficiently emit electrons, yielding current densities of up to 1.5 mA/cm² in electric fields below 5 V/µm. Yet, good emission properties were only shown in films with low effective thickness, when nickel grains did not form a solid layer, but left a part of the substrate area exposed to the action of the electric field. This phenomenon can be naturally explained in terms of the two-barrier emission model.

Changes in the structure of glassy carbon as a function of heat treatment temperature is investigated by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements. It is shown that the glassy carbon samples studied can be described as poorly ordered turbostratic nanographite. An increase in temperature leads to some ordering with preservation of the general structural motif. Based on spectroscopic evidence, graphene sheet curvature in the high-temperature glassy carbon samples is suggested.

The dependence between the variation of microwave losses by a − C : H(Co) films measured at 10 GHz and alteration of Co content in the film was investigated. It was shown that microwave losses attain maximal value at approximately 33at.% of cobalt. This dependence may be explained in terms of the formation of Co-containing clusters having various shapes. Because of property of conductive flakes to absorb microwaves, fragments of graphene modified with Co are considered as candidates for the microwave absorption. Estimations of the flake size using Raman and transmission electron microscopy data allow reproduce initial conditions for mathematical simulation of physical properties of the flakes.

In this study, the results for the solution of the pattern recognition problem are presented — extraction of fluorescence contribution for carbon dots used as biomarkers from the background signals of natural fluorophores and the determination of relative nanoparticle concentration. To solve this problem, artificial neural networks were used. The principal opportunity for solution of the given problem was demonstrated. The used architectures for neural networks allow the detection of carbon dot-based fluorescence within the background of native fluorescent egg protein with sufficiently high accuracy (not lower than 0.002 mg/ml).