Unzipping of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were first brought to the attention of greater scientific community by S. Ljima of Japan in 1991. CNTs are members of the fullerene (C60) structural family. Their name is derived from their long and hollow structures with the walls formed by one atom thick sheets of carbon, called graphene. This graphene is a two-dimensional (2D) material exhibits exceptionally high crystal and electronic quality. Despite its short history it has already revealed a cornucopia of new physics and potential applications due to high charge carrier mobility, exceptional mechanical and electrical properties. However the low cost, good quality graphene synthesis is a big challenge to the science society. In this report I will describe the fabrication of graphene nanoribbons from carbon nanotubes (CNT) treated with potassium permanganate in a concentrated sulphuric acid solution reported by Dmitry V. Kosynkin and Amanda L. Higginboth in nature paper Vol. 458| 16 April 2009, doi:10.1038/nature07872.