Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNTs)

Concentric carbon tubes providing structural reinforcement.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Sumio Iijima's 1991 electron-microscopy report of multi-walled tubes in arc-discharge soot launched the carbon nanotube field.
• Concentric shells spaced about 0.34 nm apart can telescope with almost no friction, a sword-in-sheath motion demonstrated as a nanoscale bearing.
• Produced by the kiloton in fluidized-bed CVD reactors, MWCNTs are blended into lithium-ion battery electrodes as a conductive additive.

Specifications & Metrics

• DENSITY: 2.10 g/cm³
• YIELD STRENGTH: 10-60 GPa (tensile)
• HARDNESS: N/A