The Road for Nanomaterials Industry: A Review of Carbon Nanotube Production, Post‐Treatment, and Bulk Applications for Composites and Energy Storage

Abstract

The innovation on the low dimensional nanomaterials brings the rapid growth of nano community. Developing the controllable production and commercial applications of nanomaterials for sustainable society is highly concerned. Herein, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with sp(2) carbon bonding, excellent mechanical, electrical, thermal, as well as transport properties are selected as model nanomaterials to demonstrate the road of nanomaterials towards industry. The engineering principles of the mass production and recent progress in the area of CNT purification and dispersion are described, as well as its bulk application for nanocomposites and energy storage. The environmental, health, and safety considerations of CNTs, and recent progress in CNT commercialization are also included. With the effort from the CNT industry during the past 10 years, the price of multi-walled CNTs have decreased from 45 000 to 100 $ kg(-1) and the productivity increased to several hundred tons per year for commercial applications in Li ion battery and nanocomposites. When the prices of CNTs decrease to 10 $ kg(-1) , their applications as composites and conductive fillers at a million ton scale can be anticipated, replacing conventional carbon black fillers. Compared with traditional bulk chemicals, the controllable synthesis and applications of CNTs on a million ton scale are still far from being achieved due to the challenges in production, purification, dispersion, and commercial application. The basic knowledge of growth mechanisms, efficient and controllable routes for CNT production, the environmental and safety issues, and the commercialization models are still inadequate. The gap between the basic scientific research and industrial development should be bridged by multidisciplinary research for the rapid growth of CNT nano-industry.

Hydration Phenomena of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes (CNT)/Cement Composites

“…CNTs were considered a new and outstanding material with great potential applications in composites technology [6,7]. CNTs possess covalent sp 2 bonds between individual carbon atoms and an ultra-high mechanical strength with Young's modulus of 1.2 TPa [8]. It is important to note that the tensile strength of CNTs [9] is nearly 100 times higher than that of steel [10].…”

C60 to CNT- CNF – Buckypaper: Wonder Platforms for Nanomedicine Applications

“…Presently, due to its application in vast variety of fields, the mass production of CNTs has become a reality, reducing the per Kg cost from $45000 to $100 while increasing the productivity to several 100 tons/year in the last 10 years of its development [14]. And since the application is only going to become more diverse, the prices will continue to decline.…”

Low temperature synthesis of multiwalled carbon nanotubes and incorporation into an organic solar cell

“…The main method used for the synthesis of MWCNTs, both on a lab-scale and commercially, is the thermal chemical vapour deposition (CVD) [25,26]. The thermal CVD technique utilises high temperatures in the range 500-1100 C [2,[25][26][27].…”

“…The thermal CVD technique utilises high temperatures in the range 500-1100 C [2,[25][26][27]. These temperatures are not suitable for the direct growth of vertically aligned MWCNTs onto substrates, especially when considering using substrates with very low strain points or thermal stabilities below these high temperatures.…”